About

I am an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. Since joining the department in Fall 2023 I've taught Introduction to Environmental Science, Introduction to Sustainability, Water Quality & Water Resources Management, and Introduction to Mapping and GIS. Prior to that, I was a postdoc at the University of Maryland, where I managed DAWN, a USDA-funded project to build a decision-support dashboard for US farmers.

My research blends environmental science with modern data tools to understand landscape evolution, identify vulnerable ecosystems, and support sustainable agricultural production. Most recently, I've been using drone imagery and machine learning algorithms to assess the health of Carolina Bay ecosystems.

Before joining adademia, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso and a program manager in the Middle East section at the US Forest Service Office of International Programs. Although I've had to cut back on travel after my kids were born, I still maintain a strong interest in international development and cross-border environmental protection efforts.

If you'd like to collaborate on a research project, want to learn more about Francis Marion University, or need to get in touch for another reason, please send me an email at drew.gower[at]fmarion.edu.