People

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Erin Hestir, PHD

Director

Dr. Erin Hestir assumed the role of Director for the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) & the Banatao Institute at UC Merced in August 2023. Formerly Associate Director of the institute, she emphasizes interdisciplinary research for societal benefit. As Associate Director, Hestir institutionalized the Valle! Get your start in tech! education program and brought remote sensing programming to undergraduate students in the Central Valley. She is an Associate Professor for Civil and Environmental Engineering and a faculty member in the Environmental Systems Graduate Group. Through her lab, Earth Observation and Remote Sensing, Hestir's leadership extends to pioneering geomatics and sensing solutions for agricultural and environmental challenges. Her impactful work includes leading NASA's BioSCape biodiversity campaign and transforming agriculture through technology with the NSF Engineering Research Center for IoT4Ag. With a Ph.D. in Geography from UC Davis, Hestir brings diverse international expertise to her role.

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Hanna Bartram, MS

Managing Director of CITRIS

Hanna Bartram joined UC Merced CITRIS as Managing Director in 2024. Prior to her work with CITRIS, Hanna spearheaded programs to equip the next generation with the skills and knowledge needed to solve food system problems with innovative AI technologies with the AI Institute for Next Generation Food Systems at UC Davis. With a passion for broadening societal understanding of science, Hanna is excited to build collaborations and share the innovative research of CITRIS. She holds a B.S. in Geology and an M.S. in Geoscience

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Eleanor King, MS

Outreach and Education Coordinator

As the outreach and education coordinator for CITRIS at UC Merced, Eleanor King is responsible for bringing educational science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs to schools within the Central Valley. She received her B.S. in environment and sustainability from Catawba College in 2020, where she pursued a mix of community engagement and community-based conservation research for her undergraduate honors thesis in northwestern Madagascar. She holds an M.S. in environmental science and policy with a focus in conservation science and policy from George Mason University, having completed her thesis research on the outcomes of reforestation efforts in Ranomafana, Madagascar. She continues to find ways to bridge gaps between communities and scientists in her current work, running educational drone programming and more.