Longcore Lab @ UCLA

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The Longcore Lab @ UCLA is located within the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. Our focus is on issues of urban nature and sustainability, and applied conservation science. Major themes include:

  • measurement and assessment of impacts of light pollution at multiple scales and on wildlife, ecosystems, and humans;
  • applied conservation planning using spatial tools to gain insight on and guide conservation action; and
  • harnessing emerging or underexploited spatial data sources to leverage against complex conservation or sustainability challenges.

Our current and recent projects include:

Team

Joseph Serafino is a fourth year (Class of 2026) Environmental Science major with minors in Environmental Systems and Society and Geographic Information Systems. He loves to try new foods and late night drives. He often stays awake late into the night and hopes to learn more about light pollution’s impact on himself and the environment around him. He is very excited to work with the undergraduate team to analyze light levels around the Central Dark Sky Reserve in Idaho and use GIS to share the data.

Sammy Sisitsky is a third year undergraduate (Class of 2027) majoring in Environmental Science. She enjoys running, camping, field hockey, and watching Jeopardy. She is especially interested in light pollution’s effects on animal life and ecosystems as a whole.

Aditya Murthy is a third-year undergraduate (Class of 2027) majoring in Computer Science and Engineering with a minor in Public Affairs at UCLA. He loves skiing, martial arts, and long walks through the redwoods with his dog. As a Data Analyst and Researcher at the Longcore Lab, he works on improving LA city planning using big data, parallel computing, and machine learning techniques. Aditya is passionate about computer architecture and program optimization, with a long-term goal of pursuing a career in tech law.

Synaia Faust is a fourth year Environmental Science major with a concentration in Conservation Biology and a minor in Geographic Information Systems. She is especially interested in artificial lights’ impact on the health and cultural aspects of human lifestyle, as well as the ecological impacts on other species in our shared ecosystem. In her free time she enjoys running, hiking, crocheting, and cooking. In addition to studying the night sky she also loves maps and learning about all things botany!

Louise Goldman is a second-year undergraduate studying Environmental Science. She is especially invested in combatting urban artificial light overuse having worked on light pollution projects in her hometown of Chicago, and she wants to spread awareness of the biological and cultural impacts of unnecessary light at night. When not researching the night sky, you’ll find her camping under it, playing frisbee, or enjoying live music. She’s excited to work with the NASA Light Pollution Ambassadors!

Ashley Gleason is a fourth year (Class of 2026) undergraduate majoring in Human Biology & Society and minoring in Environmental Engineering. She loves skiing, backpacking, climbing, and hopes to visit all the National Parks in the US. She is passionate about understanding light pollution and its impacts on marine and terrestrial animals. She is excited to work on the Caltrans LED project to research the impacts of light intensity and spectrum and explore mitigation approaches.

Collaborators

Nina Noujdina – Geospatial Analyst. (Google Scholar Publications).

Beau MacDonald – Applied Biogeographer and GIS Analyst at USC Spatial Sciences Institute.

Alumni

Ahalya Sabaratnam – UCLA Grand Challenges University Research Scholar, worked on the CalTrans LEDs and Wildlife project, NASA Light Pollution Ambassador. Currently Environmental Litigation Manager at RoseyFields.

Jake Wright – UCLA Grand Challenges University Research Scholar, CalTrans LEDs and Wildlife, NASA Light Pollution Ambassador.

Aslan Li – Research assistant on LEDs and Terrestrial Wildlife, Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve STEM Network. Pursuing masters degree at Yale School of the Environment.

Jules de la Cruz – UCLA Grand Challenges University Research Scholar, NASA Light Pollution Ambassador – see “One student’s experience documenting light pollution in Idaho’s dark sky reserve“. Now a Georgia Tech Presidential Fellow in Cryospheric Science. Now Ph.D. Student at Georgia Tech.

Chloe Belinsky – Research assistant for Mapping Los Angeles Landscape History.

Sahar Derakhshan – Postdoctoral scholar for Heat Resilient LA; currently Assistant Professor of Geography, Cal Poly Pomona

Mahliya Purificacion – NASA Light Pollution Ambassador. Currently Project Manager at RoseyFields.

Ashley Fernando – UCLA Grand Challenges University Research Scholar; currently Environmental Specialist at Los Angeles World Airports.

Wanting Peng — Visiting Doctoral Scholar; currently Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University

Eliza Gutierrez-Dewar – Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Illuminated Boats at Night; currently Consultant at Esri.

Levi Simons – Coast Light and Park Light

Benjamin Banet – Park Light; currently Physical Scientist at National Park Service Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division.

Harrison Knapp, Yu Chuan Shan, Kiana Kerr, Cameron Levine, and Camille Verendia – Coast Light and Park Light

Practicum in Environmental Science Groups

Logan Dalton, Chloe Fuson, Olivia Hurst, Cicely Luna, Evan Melendez, Sydney Parrone, Diana Saucedo, and Mackenzie Tassielo – Prioritizing Plant Reintroduction Candidates for the California Islands Under Future Climate Projections. Client: The Nature Conservancy (2024)

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Helen Coffman, Jack Galeotti, In Su Park, Ye Ji Park, Charlene Tonai Din, Tyler Tu, and Jake Wright – Informing the Future of the Santa Monica Airport: Scientific Insights and Historical Perspectives. Client: City of Santa Monica (2024)

Edward Quick, Sofia Azmat, Grace Wallace, Madison Fedor, Emmy Shaw, Rachel Hagar, Emma Butcher, Ryo Shiratori – Eradication of Invasive Plant Species on Santa Cruz Island at a Landscape Scale. Client: The Nature conservancy (2023)

Alondra Gallegos, Bethany Woo, Danielle Sonobe, Jana Salomon, Jasmine Kim, Jeffrey Van, Renato Escobar, Samara Fruman – Changes in Park Use During Extreme Heat Events in Los Angeles County. Client: County of Los Angeles (2023)

Trisha Nicole Bautista, Mari Bouwman, Liana Huang, Lily Lee, Jo Tarczynski, Ian Wahagheghe, Xinyi Zeng – Smartphone Locations Reveal Patterns of Cooling Center Use During Extreme Heat in Los Angeles County. Client: County of Los Angeles (2022)

Maria Carias, Shawn Fujioka, Jacob Phaneuf, Megan Potter, Ieva Vaiciunas, Lynn Wilder, Cassidy Wood, and Jacqueline Yu – Preserving the night sky: Monitoring light pollution affecting the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve. Client: Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve (2021).

Hannah Aldern, John Eggers, Steve Flores, Lesly Franco, Eric Hirshfield-Yamanishi, Laina Petrinec, and Wilson Yan – Tuning the white light spectrum of residential lamps for reducing nocturnal insect attraction. Client: Philips (2014).

Jennifer M. Chan, Terry H. Chen, Yuxin Jin, Nicole M. Tachiki, Sara L. Vetter, Megan L. Vyenielo, Gina Y. Zheng – Evaluating Certified Wildlife Habitats and the minds behind them. Client: National Wildlife Federation

Tatiana Briones, Wendy Chao, Joshua Cox, Thomas Lau, Alizah Mooman, Amy Sen, and Isabel Sepkowitz – Development of citizen science protocols to measure sound and light levels for bird ecology. Client: Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Gabriel Albano, Tanya Bitcon, Maanya Condamoor, Sirena Lao, Greg Lopez, Ryan Sokolovsky – Large mammal movement in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains. Client: National Park Service.

Margarita Armendariz, Allison Davison, Alessandro Maganuco, and Aaron Whitby – Crow density and anthropogenic subsidies near the Venice, California Least Tern colony. Client: Los Angeles Audubon Society.

Monica Bartos, Stephanie Falzone, Kaitlin Kelly–Reif, Cassandra Vasquez, Jennifer Ward, Sylvie Dao, Dale Douk, Eric Gumerlock, Stephanie Hoekstra, David Mori, Chay Tang, and Sarah Young – Use of Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Single-Family Neighborhoods Along an Urban-Wildland Interface in California