His current research interests are 1) urban modelling; 2) land use and land cover change; 3) the hydrological cycle in land surface models. He also supports the development, testing, evaluation, and documentation of the land model component of the Community Climate System Model (CCSM), the Community Land Model (CLM). In 2008, he was a co-recipient of the CCSM Distinguished Achievement Award for his collaborative work with the CCSM community in developing the CLM. His most recent accomplishments include the development and implementation of an urban parameterization in CLM to address climate change related issues unique to urban areas. His publications emphasize his diverse experience in satellite remote sensing and modeling natural and anthropogenic land surfaces in climate models.