Joanna Bieri Ph.D.

Joanna Bieri is an applied mathematician whose research spans multiple application areas. Her doctoral work, funded by NASA, developed mathematical models for edge flames in microgravity and numerical solutions to nonlinear partial differential equations, examining extinction and re-ignition patterns in confined flame chambers. After joining University of Redlands, Professor Bieri conducted ecological modeling research supported by the National Institute for Modeling Biological Systems, focusing on quantifying the value of migrating animals across geographic boundaries to inform conservation and management plans, including the development of generalized modeling code and metrics used by U.S. Geological Survey scientists. 

Her recent work centers on machine learning and data science, which started as an effort to provide her students data-focused learning in class and quickly expanded. As faculty lead for data science, she developed the Bachelor of Arts in Data Science in 2024. Her current interests include high-dimensional data analysis, autoencoders, and transformers.

• Ph.D., engineering science and applied mathematics, Northwestern University
• M.S., engineering science and applied mathematics, Northwestern University
• B.S., math and physics, Northern Arizona University

• Adjunct researcher, Center for Communications Research, La Jolla, California, summers 2020–present
• Lecturer, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 2008–2009
• Research assistant, NASA Fellowship, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 2005–2008
• Consultant, GCRCsim, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2003–2004

• Sample, C., Bieri, J. A., Allen, B., Dementieva, Y., Carson, A., Higgens, C., Piatt, S., Qiu, S., Stafford, S.*, Mattsson, B. J., Semmens, D. J., Diffendorfer, J. E., & Thogmartin, W. E. (2020). Quantifying the contribution of habitats and pathways to a spatially structured population facing environmental change. American Naturalist.
• Sample, C., Bieri, J. A., Allen, B., Dementieva, Y., Carson, A., Higgens, C., Piatt, S., Qiu, S., Stafford, S.*, Mattsson, B. J., Semmens, D. J., Thogmartin, W. E., & Diffendorfer, J. E. (2019). Quantifying source and sink habitats and pathways in spatially structured populations: A generalized modeling approach. Ecological Modelling. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.06.003
• Bieri, J. A., Sample, C., Thogmartin, W. E., Diffendorfer, J. E., Earl, J. E., Erikson, R. A., Federico, P., Flockhart, D. T. T., Nicol, S., Semmens, D., Skraber, T., Wiederholt, R., & Mattsson, B. J. (2018). A guide to calculating habitat-quality metrics to inform conservation of highly mobile species. Natural Resource Modeling. https://doi.org/10.1111/nrm.12156
• Sample, C., Fryxell, J., Bieri, J. A., Federico, P., Earl, J., Wiederholt, R., Mattsson, B., Flockhart, T., Nicol, S., Diffendorfer, J., Thogmartin, W., Erickson, R., & Norris, D. (2017). A general modeling framework for describing spatio-temporal population dynamics. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3685
• Erikson, R. A., Diffendorfer, J. E., Norris, D. R., Bieri, J. A., Earl, J. E., Federico, P., Fryxell, J. M., Long, K. R., Mattsson, B. J., Sample, C. S., Wiederholt, R., & Thogmartin, W. E. (2017). Defining and classifying migratory habitats as sources and sinks: The migratory pathway approach. Journal of Applied Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12952
• Bieri, J. A., & Matalon, M. (2011). Edge flames stabilized in a nonpremixed microcombustor. Combustion Theory and Modelling.

*University of Redlands undergraduate co-author

• Outstanding Service Award, University of Redlands, 2021
• Nominee, Mortar Board Professor of the Year, University of Redlands, 2020
• Salzburg Faculty Teaching Fellow, University of Redlands, 2018
• Proposal Writing Faculty Fellow, University of Redlands, 2016
• Outstanding Teaching Award, University of Redlands, 2015
• Faculty Research Grant, University of Redlands, 2012–2013
• Outstanding Teaching Award, University of Redlands, 2011
• Project NExT Fellow (Mathematical Association of America), 2010–2012