James Amato
3D Visualization Center
Associate Research Professional, GIS and Remote Sensing
James Amato is an Associate Research Professional and Division Manager at the 3D Visualization Center within the School of Energy Resources (SER), where he oversees SER’s GIS and Remote Sensing capabilities. He is a licensed drone pilot and is proficient in ArcGIS, hyperspectral imaging, and field geology.
A Wisconsin native now residing in Wyoming, James earned both his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Geosciences from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, specializing in sedimentology, geomorphology, and geophysics. After completing his graduate studies in 2017, James joined the Department of Geology at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh as an Instrumentation Specialist. In this role, he co-instructed the UWO Geology Field Camp and co-led various interim field courses. In 2020, he joined the Wyoming State Geological Survey as the Map Editor and Geospatial Technical Principal, serving as the agency’s primary expert in geospatial information science and technology (GIST).
James joined the School of Energy Resources in 2023. In 2025, he completed a second M.S. degree in GIST, with an emphasis on Unmanned Aerial Systems, from the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center (WyGISC) at the University of Wyoming. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Geology, where he is applying drone and hyperspectral technologies to lithologically map units of the Green River and Wasatch formations in Wyoming-Utah-Colorado.
