Songlin Fei, the Dean’s Chair in Remote Sensing and professor of forestry and natural resources and director of the Institute for Digital Forestry, is the recipient of the 2025 Herbert Newby McCoy Award. (Purdue University photo/Kelsey Lefever)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Songlin Fei has been chosen to receive the 2025 Herbert Newby McCoy Award, which is bestowed upon the Purdue faculty member who made the greatest contributions to the field of natural sciences in the past year. Fei was selected for his breakthroughs in digital forestry and computational biology.
Fei is the Dean’s Chair in Remote Sensing and professor of forestry and natural resources in Purdue University’s College of Agriculture and the director of the Institute for Digital Forestry. He is recognized as one of the principal architects of digital forestry, a rapidly emerging field that combines forest science and technological innovation to understand and sustain ecosystems in the age of big data. His work with remote sensing and algorithm development has redefined how forests are measured and monitored. His team created novel systems that integrate multiple sensors to produce fine-resolution forest inventories using portable, cost-effective backpack lidar units. These tools allow automatic measuring of all trees over hundreds of acres in a single day.
His research has not only transformed digital forestry into a rigorous, scalable and applied science but also provided novel insights into ecosystem structure, function and sustainability. Fei expressed his deep gratitude for being selected to receive the McCoy Award.
“This recognition reflects the collective efforts of my students, collaborators and colleagues at Purdue who share a vision of advancing digital forestry to better understand and sustain our ecosystems,” Fei said. “Purdue’s commitment to interdisciplinary innovation has made it possible to transform emerging technologies into tools that not only advance science but also address real-world challenges in natural resource management.”
Fei has made strides in AI-driven modeling, simulation and remote sensing that are redefining what is possible in forest analytics. Working with computer science colleagues, he and his team developed AI models to reconstruct, classify and simulate forests. His group collaborated with mechanical engineering researchers to build a forest inventory application, democratizing access to digital forestry and expanding public engagement in forest science. He also worked with computer graphics technology researchers to develop vision-based systems that use drones and multimodal AI frameworks to inventory trees.
His technological breakthroughs have also yielded profound theoretical advances in ecology. Leveraging the unprecedented detail of digital datasets, Fei introduced the concept of structural diversity, a new ecological framework linking three-dimensional forest structure to productivity, biodiversity and resilience. His work has established a foundation for understanding ecosystems as dynamic 3D systems shaped both by genetics and the environment.
Fei has published over 190 peer-reviewed articles, and his work has been cited over 7,500 times. In 2024, he was named a fellow for the American Association for the Advancement of Science and received the Award in Forest Science from the Society of American Foresters.
As the director of Purdue’s Institute for Digital Forestry, he has built a thriving intellectual community where students, scientists and practitioners collaborate to address sustainability challenges. Under his leadership, several landmark educational initiatives have been launched, including the digital forestry minor and the Digital Data Acquisition Camp. Fei has also mentored 18 postdocs and 30 graduate students, helping to cultivate a new generation of the forestry workforce.
His work exemplifies how technological breakthroughs can deepen ecological understanding while delivering tangible solutions to natural resource management and global environmental challenges.
This work also aligns with Purdue Computes, an initiative that encompasses the university’s research and programs in physical AI, computing, semiconductors and quantum science.
Fei will speak at the Excellence in Research Award Lectures event from 9-11:30 a.m. May 6 in the East and West Faculty lounges in the Purdue Memorial Union. Registration is requested here.
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