Pete Bettinger is the Hargreaves Distinguished Professor in Forest Management at the University of Georgia. He conducts research in applied forest management with particular emphasis on harvest scheduling, landscape planning, precision forestry, and geospatial technologies. Dr. Bettinger received Bachelors and Masters degrees in forestry from Virginia Tech, and a PhD in forest resources from Oregon State University. Dr. Bettinger worked for the forest industry in the southern and western United States, and maintains this connection to forestry professionals through his leadership in the Southern Forestry and Natural Resource Management GIS Conference. Dr. Bettinger has published over 175 peer-reviewed journal articles, and is a co-author of five books published by Academic Press: Forest Management and Planning, Introduction to Forestry and Natural Resources, Geographic Information System Skills for Foresters and Natural Resource Managers, Mapping Human and Natural Systems, and Forest Plans of North America.

In 2009, he was presented the Award of Excellence for Research and Development by the Southeastern Division of the Society of American Foresters. In 2016, he was presented the Creative Research Medal by the University of Georgia. In 2018, he was selected as a Fellow in the Society of American Foresters. In 2020, he was awarded the Carl Alwin Schenck Award by the Society of American Foresters for his devotion to forestry education, and in 2021 he was awarded the Southern Regional Award for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Finally, in 2023 he was honored with the Award in Forest Science by the Society of American Foresters for distinguished individual research in the quantitative, managerial, or social sciences.