Transforming ecological data into actionable insights.
Limelight Rainforest is a nonprofit advancing rainforest conservation through innovative monitoring technologies. Our platform integrates drones, bioacoustics, insect imaging, eDNA sampling, and AI to reveal a detailed picture of biodiversity in tropical ecosystems.
We advance conservation science from the ground up—rooted in long-term fieldwork, guided by local insight, and grounded in rigorous science and education. In partnership with Indigenous communities in the Amazon, we work to preserve biodiversity while building local capacity.
Our focus is on equipping communities with the tools to create sustainable economies and governance systems that benefit future generations.
Limelight Rainforest, winner of the international XPRIZE Rainforest competition and recipient of the $5 million grand prize, is redefining rainforest conservation through groundbreaking biodiversity monitoring technology. Our award-winning technology mapped 100 hectares of rainforest in a single day and delivered comprehensive biodiversity data within 48 hours, showcasing a powerful new standard for conservation science.
The people below the canopy
Our team is working to build a solution that supports rainforest monitoring and uplifts indigenous communities. Each team member brings unique skills in machine learning, taxonomy, drone tech, genetics, and more.
Project Leadership
Thomas Walla, PhD
Professor of Biology, Colorado Mesa University
Roles: Team leader, vision integration, project timeline management
Languages: English, Spanish
Harold Greeney
Director of Research, Yanayacu Biological Station
Roles: Innovation, insect inventory, bird inventory
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese (reading)
Project Management, Drone Delivery, and Robotics
These team members are using cutting-edge technology to design and refine our Limelight platform, and to deliver and retrieve it from the rainforest canopy.
Thomas Walla, PhD
Professor of Biology, Colorado Mesa University
Roles: Team leader, vision integration, project timeline management
Languages: English, Spanish
Eric Fortune, PhD
Associate Professor, Federated Department of Biological Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Roles: Imaging, blockchain technology
LEFO: Laboratoire d’écologie fonctionnelle végétale / Plant Functional Ecology Laboratory
Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada
Role: Vegetation monitoring via remote sensing
Outreach Robotics
Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
Team Members: Guillaume Charon, Julien Rachielle-Tremblay, Hughes La Vigne
Roles: Drone pilot, drone delivery, design of Limelight housing
Natural History, Insect Sampling, and Data Analysis
These team members are developing custom sampling tools for collecting insects and analyzing natural history & diversity data generated by all of Limelight's sensors.
Harold Greeney
Director of Research, Yanayacu Biological Station
Roles: Innovation, insect inventory, bird inventory
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese (reading)
Hernani Oliveira
Environmental Health Consultant, World Health Organization
Roles: Advisor on tropical ecology and DNA barcoding
Geraldo B. Freire-Jr., PhD
Postdoctoral Research Scholar at University of Nevada, Reno & Universidade de Brasília, Brazil
Roles: Insect imaging and entomological biodiversity
Languages: Portuguese (native) / English / Spanish
Amanda Martins Dias
Volunteer researcher, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil
Role: Insect identification
Adriana Simonetti
PhD student, National Institute of Amazon Research
Role: Tree identification
Languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish (reading)
Lora Richards, PhD
Assistant Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, Reno
Role: Analytical approaches to ecological data
Wilmer Sambana
Para-taxonomist, Yanayacu Biological Station, Ecuador
Roles: AI database training acquisitions, ground truthing species identification, on-the-ground solution tester
Language: Spanish
Gunner Brehm, PHD
Researcher, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany
Roles: Light attractant, Insect trapping, Insect identification
Machine Learning
These team members are developing AI / Machine Learning algorithms to rapidly and accurately identify species from sound and images collected by Limelight.
Neal Digre, MS
Machine Learning Specialist, Senior Data Scientist
Roles: Machine Learning Architecture, acoustic data analysis.
Francois Grondin, PhD
Assistant Professor, Université de Sherbrooke
Role: Lead for Acoustic Localization
Caitlin J Campbell, PhD
Quantitative Ecologist, Bat Conservation International
Roles: Bioacoustics and bioinformatics
Ankita Shukla, PhD
Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Engineering Department, University of Nevada, Reno
Roles: Machine Learning Architecture, acoustic data analysis.
Garth Paine, PHD
Professor, Digital Sound and Interactive Media, AME, Arizona State University; Senior Sustainability Scientist – ASU Global Institute of Sustainability
Roles: Innovation, acoustic technology design
Pavan Turaga, PhD
Director & Professor, School of Arts, Media, and Engineering
Roles: Computer vision and data analysis.
Selvatek
These team members are experts in tropical natural history and ecotourism. In particular, they are experts in bird identification and have annotated thousands of bird recordings for machine learning models.
Jarol Fernando Vaca
Owner and Operator, Shiripuno Research Center, Ecuador.
Roles: Bioacoustic testing and AI training, bird and frog identification, solution testing
Languages: English, Spanish
Jose Illanes
International Bird Guide
Roles: Bioacoustic testing and AI training, bird identification, solution testing
Languages: English, Spanish
Jefferson Gualinga Coquinche
Senior Technician in Network Installation and Maintenance
Roles: Bioacoustic testing and AI training
DNA, Bioinformatics, and Insights
These team members are using cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology to identify species by eDNA and from tissue samples collected by robotics devices.
Julie Allen, PHD
Assistant Professor of Biology, Virginia Tech.
Roles: Advisor, genetics & bioinformatics
Niyomi house, PHD
NSF Postdoctoral Associate, University of Nevada, Reno & Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
Roles: Advisor, genetics & bioinformatics
M. Eric Benbow, PhD
Professor & Global Scholar, Department of Entomology, Department of Osteopathic Medical Specialties, Michigan State University
Roles: Advisor and genetics
Kelly Waters
Ph.D. Student, Entomology and Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program, Michigan State University
Roles: Genomics and Bioinformatics
Fabricius Domingos, PhD
Associate Professor of Zoology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil
Roles: Genomics and Biogeography
Isabella Burgos Holguín, MS
Lab Manager, Allen Lab, Virginia Tech University
Roles: Lead operations manager, DNA team, genetics & bioinformatics
Taylor Schmitz
Undergraduate student, Biological Sciences, Colorado Mesa University
Role: Genetics Team
Daniela Campos Blandon
Undergraduate student, Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech
Role: Genetics Team
Robert Guralnick, PhD
Curator of Biodiversity Informatics, Department of Natural History, Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida
Roles: Data, Knowledge, and Insights
Anthropology and Indigenous Knowledge
These team members are integrating biodiversity data with a deep knowledge of the indigenous cultures of the rainforest to generate insights into the actual and potential value of intact forest.
Tod Swanson, PHD
Senior Sustainability Scientist, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation, Arizona State University; Associate Professor of Religious Studies; Affiliated Faculty, Center for Biodiversity Outcomes
Roles: Integration of insights and species inventory with the value systems of indigenous cultures
Languages: English, Spanish
Tim Casey, Phd
Professor of Political Science and Director of the Natural Resource Center, Colorado Mesa University
Roles: Inclusive Conservation, integrating Traditional Knowledge and Indigenous Populations in all stages of the project from data collection to protected area management. International biodiversity offset governance.
David Manuel-Navarrete, Phd
Associate Professor, School of Sustainability, College of Global Futures
Role: Cultural and sustainability insights
Diana Chavez Vargas, MCP
Roles: Indigenous planning, insight development
Languages: English, Spanish
Additional Expertise
These team members are providing additional, critical expertise in a variety of fields, including chemistry, engineering, design, and conservation ecology.
Sherine Antoun Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Computer Science, Colorado Mesa University
Role: Design and construction of the understory exploratory vessel
Robbi Grimm
Technical Instructor of Mechatronics, CMU Tech
Roles: Industrial controls & process technology
Matthias Hoffmann-Kuhnt, PhD
Research Fellow, Acoustic Research Laboratory, National University of Singapore
Role: Acoustic data analysis and innovation
Christopher Jeffrey, PHD
Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Nevada Reno
Roles: Measurement of plant chemical diversity and volatile characterization of the herbivore community
Casey Philbin, PhD
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Nevada Reno
Role: Chemical data acquisition and analysis
Yiwei Wang, PhD
Nature-based solutions for climate, Asia Pacific coordinator, the Nature Conservancy
Tad Hittle
Undergraduate student, Biological Sciences, Colorado Mesa University
Role: Competition logistics
Matthew Pederson
Undergraduate student, Biological Sciences, Colorado Mesa University
Role: Competition logistics
Sarah Lanci, MS
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado Mesa University
Role: Prototyping
Strategic Planning, Communications, and Media
These team members lead team communications, manage the logistical and operations during the competition, and provide strategic advice to team leaders.
