Affiliated Faculty
ESPP affiliated faculty and researchers come from 12 colleges and 40 departments. All are welcome to join: contact espp@msu.edu.
For new faculty members, we’ve provided a guide to funding, collaboration, and quality of life resources at MSU. Check it out here.
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Adesoji (Soji) O. Adelaja
Department: Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
E-mail: adelaja@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.landpolicy.msu.edu/
Dr. Soji Adelaja is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy and Co-Director of the Victor Institute at Michigan State University. He leads MSU's Land Policy Program. Dr. Adelaja holds joint faculty appointments as professor in the department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics; Department of Geography; and Department of Community, Agricultural and Recreational Resource Studies. Dr. Adelaja commenced his appointment at MSU on January 1, 2004. Prior to that, he served as the Executive Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Dean of Cook College, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station and Director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension at Rutgers University where he was on the faculty for 18 years.
Dr. Adelaja is an eclectic scholar and team builder whose research and outreach programs span a variety of areas. He is best known for his work in Land Use Policy, Agricultural Policy at the Urban Fringe, Economic Development of Food and Natural Resource-based Industries, and Emerging Issues in the Food Industry. A committed land grant scholar, his work has shaped public policy toward agriculture and other land-based industries at the urban fringe.
Evangelyn C. Alocilja
Department: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
E-mail: alocilja@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/~alocilja
My research focus is to develop biosensors and bioanalytical devices for real-time, sensitive, specific, and on-site detection and monitoring of microbial pathogens in farms, food, and the environment for biosafety and homeland security. The biosensor designs we are currently working on include electrochemical and optical sensing platforms using antibodies, DNA fragments, and biomimetic receptors as the biological sensing elements. Rapid detection of pathogens has potential for minimizing the deadly organisms from being passed on up the food chain and preventing their transfer from the source to the table. Beneficiaries of the technologies are the consumers, food industries, farm industries, tourism, and the homeland. Direct benefits to Michigan and the United States include a safer food supply, cleaner water system, a healthier population, and more energetic work force. Such benefits will translate to a better society, economy, and environment.
Soren Anderson
Department: Economics; Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics
E-mail: sta@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~sta
Soren Anderson is an Assistant Professor at MSU. He holds appointments in the Department of Economics and the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics. His research spans a broad range of topics in energy and environmental economics with a current focus on emerging markets for biofuels and fuel-economy standards. He has previously served on the staff of the President's Council of Economic Advisers and at Resources for the Future. Soren holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Jeffrey A. Andresen
Department: Geography
E-mail: andresen@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/andresen.html
Jeff Andresen is an associate professor of meteorology/climatology, the Department of Geography and the State Climatologist for Michigan. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Illinois University in the field of meteorology, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University in the field of agricultural meteorology/climatology. Dr. Andresen has professional experience as an agricultural meteorologist with the National Weather Service and with the USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board in Washington, D.C., where he was involved in international crop/weather impact assessment and production estimation. He currently serves as director of the Michigan Climatological Resources Program, co-director of the Enviro-weather system, which supports agricultural pest, production, and natural resource management decision-making across Michigan, and administrator of the Michigan Automated Weather Network (MAWN), a network of automated weather stations designed to provide quality, detailed weather data to the state's agricultural industry over the Internet. The primary focus of Andresen's research has been the influence of weather and climate on agriculture, especially within Michigan and the Great Lakes Region. Current and past themes include; climatological trends and potential impacts, water use for agricultural irrigation, impacts associated with potential future changes in climate, weather and risk management in agricultural production systems, influence of land use changes on regional climate, winter hardiness and mortality of crops and insects, and the measurement and use of weather data for determination of plant disease risk.
Joseph Arvai
Department: Community, Agriculture, Recreation & Resource Studies; Environmental Science and Policy Program
E-mail: sknkwrks@msu.edu
Web site: https://www.msu.edu/~sknkwrks/people/arvai/joe.html
Joe Arvai is an Associate Professor of Judgment and Decision Making within the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies and the Environmental Science and Policy Program at Michigan State University. He is also a faculty member in MSU's Cognitive Science Program. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master's Degree in Oceanography, and a PhD in Risk and Decision Science from The University of British Columbia. He is a recipient of the highly prestigious Chauncey Starr Award, which each year honors the individual aged 40 or younger who has made exceptional contributions to the discipline of risk analysis. He has also served on a series of advisory panels, most notably for the EPA Science Advisory Board and the National Academy of Science. He conducts an active research program that focuses on advancing and testing theories in the decision sciences that deal with how people make decisions.
Rafael Auras
Department: Packaging
E-mail: aurasraf@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.packaging.msu.edu/?page=Faculty
Dr. Auras' research focuses on the development and implementation of better sustainable packaging systems, the production and use of edible and biodegradable polymers in packaging, mass transfer phenomenon in polymers, and food product/package compatibility and interaction. Currently, Dr. Auras' research group is working on developing biodegradable mulch films for the agricultural industry. The development and use of biodegradable plastic mulch would eliminate the need to remove mulch films at the end of the growing season reducing costs and the pollution creates by disposing of polymers in landfill. In addition, Dr. Auras' research group is working on assessing packaging compostability in order to produce better sustainable packaging systems.
Mark L. Axelrod
Department: Fisheries and Wildlife, James Madison College
E-mail: axelrod3@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.jmc.msu.edu/faculty/show.asp?id=90
Teaching interests in international relations and environmental policy, international political economy, South Asia. Research interests in international law and politics, environmental law and politics, Indian trade and environmental politics, comparative foreign policy, and effects of democratic institutions on environmental outcomes.
Jon F. Bartholic
Department: Institute of Water Research
E-mail: bartholi@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.hydra.iwr.msu.edu/iwr/personnel-info.asp?st_id=1
Jon Bartholic has directed water quality and land use studies at regional, state, county and local watershed levels to aid in determining susceptible groundwater contamination areas and utilization of appropriate land use practices. He has and continues to work closely with MSU colleagues, multiple federal and state agencies and organizations on water quality and quantity issues, and land use and whole-farm planning from a watershed perspective. Most recently he has been working with others to develop an accessible integrated environmental information Web-based system including remote sensing and GIS technologies to aid users in making sound environmental, resource, and land use decisions.
Sandra S. Batie
Department: Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
E-mail: batie@msu.edu
Web site: http://aec.msu.edu/faculty/batie.htm
Sandra S. Batie came to MSU from Virginia Tech in 1993 to become the first holder of the Elton R. Smith Professor in Food and Agricultural Policy in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics. She has had a distinguished career as an economic policy analyst, specializing in natural resource, agro-environmental, and agricultural policy issues at both the federal and state levels. She has also had two sabbatical leaves, the first with The Conservation Foundation and the second with the National Governors Association, both located in Washington, D.C.
She holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington and a M.S. and Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Oregon State University. She is Past-President and Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association and the Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) and is currently Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for Winrock International. Sandra is also the Coordinator of the Sustainable Michigan Endowed Project here at MSU. This project, funded by a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Endowment, and guided by an executive committee comprised mainly of endowed chairs at MSU is dedicated to being a catalyst for engaged scholarship and research related to sustainability and to Michigan.
Janice A. Beecher
Department: Institute of Public Utilities
E-mail: beecher@msu.edu
Web site: http://ipu.msu.edu/about/staff.php
Dr. Beecher has served as Director of the Institute of Public Utilities (IPU) at MSU since 2002 and is an adjunct member of MSU's Political Science and Economics Departments and the College of Law. Dr. Beecher's career in regulation began in 1983 when she joined the Chairman's office of the Illinois Commerce Commission as a policy analyst. From there she held senior research positions at the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI) at The Ohio State University and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University (Indianapolis). She was also principal of Beecher Policy Research. Dr. Beecher's areas of expertise include regulatory theory, institutions, and policy; comparative utility industry analysis; utility pricing and rate design; and the structure and regulation of the water industry. Dr. Beecher has written and lectured extensively, and also testified before several regulatory and legislative bodies. Her work has been recognized through a number of research grants and special appointments. Dr. Beecher has a B.A. in Economics, Political Science, and History from Elmhurst College and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University, where she completed a dissertation on public utility regulation.
James R. Bence
Department: Fisheries and Wildlife
E-mail: bence@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~bence/
My research program is primarily aimed at developing better understanding of fish community and population dynamics, and improving methods for assessing fish stocks through quantitative analyses and modeling. My program emphasizes fisheries of the Great Lakes, and I have worked on assessments for a variety of species in lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior. Special areas of expertise include statistical catch-age analysis and environmental intervention analysis. I have worked to expand conventional catch-age models to incorporate predator-prey interactions, and evaluated catch-age models through simulations. I have general interests in environmental statistics and decision-making in the face of uncertainty.
George W. Bird
Department: Entomology
E-mail: birdg@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.ent.msu.edu/FacultyPages/birdg/tabid/118/Default.aspx
Dr. Bird is a Professor Nematology in the Department of Entomology. His research and academic instruction programs are focused on an ecosystem approach to Michigan agriculture and soil biology: with special reference to soil quality and nematode community structure. Dr. Bird participates in undergraduate and graduate education and numerous outreach programs throughout Michigan, U.S.A and Central Asia. As the former Director of the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program and Coordinator of the MSU Integrated Pest Management Program, he has experience interacting with numerous agriculture and science initiatives. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Rodale Institute and the Michigan Organic Food and Farm Alliance Board.
Stephen A. Boyd
Department: Crop & Soil Sciences
E-mail: boyds@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~boyds/
- Mechanistic interactions of organic toxicants with natural and anthropogenic organic phases in soils, and with natural and modified clays
- Design, synthesis and characterization of chemically modified clays for sorption and/or catalytic degradation of organic contaminants and heavy metals
- Development of geochemical controls on the bioavailability and toxicity of organic contaminants in soils and sediments
- Biodegradation of xenobiotics, especially reductive dechlorination reactions of PCBs in anaerobic habitats
- Bioavailability of soil- and sediment-bound organic contaminants to pollutant degrading bacteria, and humans
- Effects of contaminant biodegradation on toxicity
Henry Brimmer
Department: Advertising, Public Relations, and Retailing
E-mail: hbrimmer@msu.edu
Web site: http://adv.msu.edu/modules.php?name=Contacts&op=details&id=215&type=U&department_id=0&position_id=0
Henry Brimmer has been a graphic designer and educator for the past 25 years. He currently teaches graphic design through the College of Communication Arts & Sciences. He came to MSU a year ago from San Francisco via Utah and Illinois, and wishes to involve his students in projects related to environmental issues. Currently his students are working on projects for the student organic farm.
Daniel A. Bronstein
Department: Community, Agriculture, Recreation & Resource Studies
E-mail: bronstei@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.carrs.msu.edu/Main/People/faculty%20bios%5Cbronstei.asp
Daniel Bronstein’s interests are in the area of environmental policy and law. He is active in such areas as standard setting for hazardous chemicals (through MSU’s Institute for Environmental Toxicology), impact assessment and health. In recent years he has become involved in evaluating major dam projects in foreign countries (Three Gorges, Sardar Sarovar) and, through that work, has become interested in issues of sustainable development and ecotourism.
Douglas D. Buhler
Department: Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station
E-mail: buhler@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.maes.msu.edu/about/buhler.htm
My research is centered on the development of integrated, ecologically-based weed management systems that reduce herbicide use and protect the natural resource base. This goal is approached through 1) determination of the influence of management practices and site characteristics on weed population dynamics and the weed seed bank in the soil, 2) assessment of the interactions between weed population dynamics and effectiveness of cultural and chemical weed control practices, and 3) evaluation and development of decision support systems for integrated weed management with emphasis on weed emergence dynamics.
Steven J. Bursian
Department: Animal Science
E-mail: bursian@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.canr.msu.edu/dept/ans/community/people/bursian_steve.html
Steve Bursian’s research interests focus on the effects of natural toxins and environmental contaminants on avian and mammalian species. Specific interests include the effects of polyhalogenated environmental contaminants such as PCBs and dioxins on fur-bearing mammals and the effects of such compounds on developing avian embryos. Many of our studies have assessed the effects of site-specific pollutants on wildlife sentinel species in order to provide data required for environmental risk assessments.
David J. Campbell
Department: Geography
E-mail: djc@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/campbell/campbell.html
Environment and Development: people-environment interaction - relationship between land use, environment and socio-economic systems in rural areas, with particular reference to arid and semi-arid lands. Conflict over resources in semi-arid areas of Africa. Information Systems for Decision Support in Africa. Food security in rural Africa. Social and economic aspects of drought and desertification.
Kendra S. Cheruvelil
Department: Lyman Briggs College and Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: ksc@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~ksc/
I am an aquatic ecologist who enjoys working collaboratively to examine the roles that disturbance (human and natural), spatial scale, and spatial heterogeneity have on freshwater flora and fauna. I particularly enjoy addressing questions that both advance scientific understanding and are directly applicable to aquatic ecosystem management and conservation, and those that explicitly include the economic and social factors that drive the management and conservation of freshwaters. My main areas of interest include examining: 1) the role of aquatic plants in lake foodwebs, the effects of exotic species on lake foodwebs, and 3) the role of the landscape in structuring lake biology and chemistry. I use a variety of approaches to conduct my research, such as lake field surveys, mesocosm experiments, and statistical modeling. In addition to research, I enjoy teaching courses in biology, ecology, and environmental science. Courses that I've taught in the past include: Biology Limnology, Biology for Elementary School Teachers I and II, and Environmental and Conservation Biology.
Karen Chou
Department: Animal Science
E-mail: chouk@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.canr.msu.edu/dept/ans/community/people/chou_karen.html
Dr. Chou's major interest of research is environmental toxicology, with an emphasis on regulatory pathways that control the reproductive functions in mammalian species. Her research team examines the impact of environmental pollutants on reproductive and developmental health in human and animals. She has discovered new control mechanisms of the onset of sperm fertilizing ability and provided evidences for acceleration of aging-related testicular degeneration after early-life exposure to the Great Lakes contaminant and estrogenic compounds.
Peter O. Cookingham
Department: Turfgrass Information Center (MSU Libraries)
E-mail: cooking1@msu.edu
Pete Cookingham is currently the Project Director of the Turfgrass Information Center (TIC) within the MSU Libraries. TIC produces the Turfgrass Information File (TGIF) an online resource supporting turf science and culture (see tic.msu.edu). Prior to his arrival at MSU, his academic and work life were in recreation and park administration, including 3 years with the Peace Corps in Lesotho, Southern Africa; although his MS is in Library & Information Science from the University of Illinois. Some ongoing interests include communicating across the research/management gap; information access to underserved (and underorganized) literatures within applied natural resource disciplines, and why your lawn is bigger than mine.
Thomas G. Coon
Department: Michigan State University Extension
E-mail: coont@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msue.msu.edu/portal/default.cfm?pageset_id=25744&page_id=25758&msue_portal_id=25643
My research interests focus on the interactions within aquatic ecosystems – physical and biological – that influence population dynamics of fish. I have worked in a variety of aquatic systems, ranging from small headwater streams to large rivers and from southern impounded rivers to the Great Lakes and coral reefs. Most recently, I have investigated the influence of stream dynamics on early life history of migratory salmonids in Lake Michigan and the influence of coastal wetland dynamics on early life history of fishes in Lake Huron.
Evelyne Cudel
Department: Philosophy
E-mail:
Web site: http://www.philosophy.msu.edu/faculty/affiliated-scholar/evelyne-cudel
Alison M. Cupples
Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering
E-mail: cupplesa@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/~cupplesa/
Microbial degradation of soil and water contaminants. Dehalogenation of the groundwater contaminants tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene and their reductive dechlorination products, cis-dichloroethene and vinyl chloride. The development and use of molecular methods to identify and quantify the microorganisms responsible for environmental contaminants. Fate of pharmaceuticals during wastewater treatment and land application of biosolids.
Bruce Dale
Department: Chemical Engineering & Materials Science
E-mail: bdale@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.chems.msu.edu/php/faculty.php?user=bdale
Professor Dale's research and professional interests lie at the intersection of chemical engineering and the life sciences. Specifically, he is interested in the environmentally sustainable conversion of plant matter to industrial products- fuels, chemicals and materials- while meeting human and animal needs for food and feed. He led a National Research Council report entitled "Biobased Industrial Products: Research and Commercialization Priorities" which was published in May 2000. Dr. Dale has authored over 100 refereed journal papers and is an active consultant to industry. He holds thirteen U. S. and foreign patents.
Frank B. Dazzo
Department: Microbiology & Molecular Genetics, Crop & Soil Sciences
E-mail: dazzo@msu.edu
Web site: http://mmg.msu.edu/86.html
Rhizosphere microbial ecology, beneficial plant-microbe interactions especially involving Rhizobium and legumes/cereals, developer of a new CMEIAS, scientific software package to strengthen microscopy-based approaches for understanding in situ microbial ecology.
William Derman
Department: Anthropology
E-mail: derman@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.anthropology.msu.edu/faculty/derman.shtml
Bill Derman has been carrying out research in Zimbabwe since 1987 after a long period of research in West Africa. His interests are in environment and change, planned rural development, analyses of development projects, and, more recently, decentralization of natural resource management institutions. For five years, beginning in 1989, he conducted a study of the Mid-Zambezi Rural Development Project, one of the only resettlement projects carried out in communal lands in Zimbabwe. He then turned to an examination of Zambezi Valley land-use planning in general. He critiqued the government for employing a technocratic, ecologically insensitive, and top-down approach to this area. With the Centre for Applied Social Sciences, he began a long-term study of the processes of water reform, water management institutions, and decentralization. This study was expanded to include Malawi under the leadership of Anne Ferguson and became part of the BASIS Collaborative Research Support Program on Land and Water in Southern Africa with Pauline Peters, Harvard University, as Team Leader. This study has now been expanded as part of BASIS II, which emphasizes land-water interfaces. The project will be carried out in Malawi and Zimbabwe with most of the field research being carried out by African researchers from the University of Zimbabwe and the University of Malawi.
Jim Detjen
Department: Journalism
E-mail: detjen@msu.edu
Web site: http://cas.msu.edu/modules.php?name=Contacts&op=details&id=126&type=U&department_id=0&position_id=0
Jim Detjen, Director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism in the School of Journalism, holds the Knight Chair in Journalism in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. The Knight Center trains journalists in the United States and around the world to write about environmental and science issues. Professor Detjen conducts research on environmental journalism in the United States and other countries. The Knight Center runs a week-long training institute on Great Lakes environmental issues for American and Canadian journalists every other June. The Knight Center has also organized or participated in training workshops for environmental journalists in Russia, China, India, South Africa, Mexico, England and more than a dozen other countries. The Knight Center publishes EJ, a magazine; a web site; runs listservs for environmental journalists in Mexico and the United States; publishes the ECHO news service, containing summaries of environmental news in Michigan; and produces handbooks and resources for environmental journalists.
Thomas M. Dietz
Department: Sociology, Environmental Science and Policy Program
E-mail: tdietz@msu.edu
Web site: http://sociology.msu.edu/tdietz.html
Thomas Dietz holds a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis, and a Bachelor of General Studies from Kent State University. He is a National Associate of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has been awarded the Distinguished Contribution Award of the American Sociological Association Section on Environment, Technology and Society. He currently chairs the U.S. National Research Council Panel on Public Participation on Environmental Assessment and Decision Making. He also serves as Secretary of Section K (Social, Economic, and Political Sciences) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is Past-President of the Society for Human Ecology. He has co-authored or co-edited six books and more than 80 papers and book chapters. His current research examines the human driving forces of environmental change, environmental values and the interplay between science and democracy in environmental issues.
Tracy A. Dobson
Department: Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: dobson@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~dobson/
Co-management of natural resources in Malawi Tribal treaty fishing rights in the Great Lakes bordering Michigan; Tribal treaty rights to exploit inland resources in Michigan; Great Lakes women conservationists; Institutional and policy frameworks of the Great Lakes Basin.
Erin Dreelin
Department: Center for Water Sciences
E-mail: dreelin@msu.edu
Web site: http://cws.msu.edu/about_us/people.html
Dr. Dreelin received her PhD in Ecology from the University of Georgia in 2004. Her research focuses on sustainable development and innovative stormwater management practices to protect aquatic ecosystems. Dr. Dreelin’s work also has a strong emphasis on outreach. She works with local governments to revise building codes in order to improve land development practices and to encourage low impact development and Smart Growth techniques.
Lawrence T. Drzal
Department: Chemical Engineering & Materials Science
E-mail: drzal@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.chems.msu.edu/people/profile/drzal
Professor Drzal's research is directed at exploring materials and processes that are efficient, useful for structural applications and environmentally friendly. This includes materials, interfaces and processing that are centered on both petroleum based and biobased polymers; inorganic and biobased reinforcements, nanoreinforcements and processes to fabricate them into composite materials. One area of research underpinning all of these activities is research into the fundamentals of adhesion. Some potential process technologies under active investigation are ultraviolet light, microwave, electron beam and powder processing. Major research is being undertaken to develop biobased, sustainable, structural biocomposites that can replace petroleum based structural composites. This includes new biobased biofiber reinforcements from plants, bioplastics from plant chemicals, and new methods for processing biocomposites with high reinforcement contents and surface treatments for optimization of biocomposite properties.
Diane Ebert-May
Department: Plant Biology
E-mail: ebertmay@msu.edu
Web site: http://plantbiology.msu.edu/faculty/faculty-research/diane-ebert-may/
As a plant ecologist, I conduct long-term ecological research (LTER) on alpine tundra plant communities on Niwot Ridge, Colorado. My interest in the complex interactions occurring in alpine plant communities in response to global change combined with my commitment to undergraduate biology education, lead to the expansion of my research program to include questions about the teaching and learning of biology. The research our group pursues requires linking the concepts and processes of biology to theories and processes of cognitive science with emphasis on how students construct understanding of the discipline. We use the methods of discipline-based science research that allow for investigating course and curriculum development, assessment, and pedagogy.
Kyle T. Evered
Department: Geography
E-mail: ktevered@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/evered.html
Kyle Evered's research interests involve political ecologies and environmental histories found in Eurasia. Some of his recent projects have dealt with: small-scale farmers, their ecologies, and their views regarding potential impacts of Turkey becoming part of the European Union; the ecologies and geopolitics of poppy production in Eurasia, past and present; and, challenges for wetland conservation and local ecologies amid pressures for development.
Wesley Everman
Department: Crop and Soil Sciences
E-mail: everman@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.css.msu.edu/People.cfm
Dr. Wesley Everman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. He is an Extension Weed Specialist with primary research and outreach focus on Weed Management in corn, potato, and forage crops, with additional research interests in pasture and non-cropland areas as well as in the area of precision agriculture. Dr. Everman joined MSU and the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in January 2008.
Anne E. Ferguson
Department: Anthropology
E-mail: fergus12@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.anthropology.msu.edu/faculty/ferguson.shtml
Anne Ferguson, Professor and Director of the Women and International Development Program, does research and teaching in the areas of development studies, gender, agricultural and environmental change, and medical anthropology. In the mid-1980s Dr. Ferguson shifted her research focus to Southern Africa where she has studied development initiatives in the areas of agriculture, fisheries, and water sector reform. Her research in Malawi centers on the gendered social construction of agricultural technology and natural resource management programs and policies. Dr. Ferguson has studied the social and cultural factors which underpin the maintenance of crop bio-diversity, examining how these factors shape agricultural technology improvement programs. She also has examined the social impacts of fisheries policies in Malawi. Currently, her research centers on the gender dimensions of Malawi’s new water reform policies. Much of Dr. Ferguson’s research has been carried out in collaboration with colleagues at MSU and at the University of Malawi. Her research has been supported by the McArthur Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, Rockefeller Foundation, and USAID. In 2000, she received a Fulbright Hays Faculty Research Abroad Program grant to study the gender dimensions of Malawi’s and Zimbabwe’s water reforms.
Dr. Ferguson is one of the co-founders of the Gender, Justice and Environmental Change Graduate Specialization. Dr. Ferguson teaches gender studies courses with a focus on agriculture, environment and development.
Scott D. Fitzgerald
Department: Pathobiology & Diagnostic Investigation
E-mail: fitzgerald@dcpah.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.pathobiology.msu.edu/people/fitzgerald.html
I am an anatomic veterinary pathologist with 15 years experience in infectious disease, toxicology and comparative pathology. I have board certification by both the American College of Veterinary Pathologists, and the American College of Poultry Veterinarians. My expertise spans most of the animal kingdom (fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals). Experience with experimental studies in animals has included a variety of species: domestic birds (chickens, turkeys, pheasants), wild birds (crows, starlings, pigeons, mallard ducks), fish (goldfish, medaka, carp, minnows), and laboratory and wild mammals (mice, rats, voles, opossums, rabbits, mink, dogs, cats). I have worked with animal models for both viruses and bacteria, and studied toxicants including man-made organic compounds, heavy metals, plant and fungal toxins. Organ systems of special interest include the respiratory, lymphoid and urinary systems. I have conducted many animal studies involving Bio-Safety Level III agents at the University Research Containment Facility. Through my appointment in the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health (DCPAH) I have extensive experience with infectious disease diagnosis in food animals, companion animals and wildlife. I serve as the leader of the Diagnostic Laboratory’s surveillance programs for Tuberculosis in Wildlife and Salmonid Diseases, and collaborate on the West Nile Virus and Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance programs. My interest in animal disease extends to the population and ecosystem levels, and I am particularly interested in zoonotic and emerging diseases.
Pennie G. Foster-Fishman
Department: Psychology
E-mail: fosterfi@msu.edu
Web site: http://psychology.msu.edu/Faculty/FacultyMember.aspx?netid=fosterfi
Pennie G. Foster-Fishman is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University. She received her Ph.D. in organizational/community psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research interests primarily emphasize organizational and community development and change, particularly those processes that can improve how services can better meet the needs of children, youth, and families. Toward this end, she has investigated human service delivery reform, multiple stakeholder collaboration, coalition development, community organizing, and resident empowerment as vehicles for change. She has also worked with a variety of human service delivery and not-for-profit organizations, working to improve their organizational operations, their work environment, and the efficacy of their service delivery. She has also worked with a variety of community-based coalitions, aiming to improve their collaborative processes and outcomes. Foster-Fishman has recently organized a Faculty Learning Community on the Scholarship of Engagement at Michigan State University. This Learning Community hopes to promote the understanding and valuing of university/community collaboration and community-based scholarly endeavors. Currently, she is leading a longitudinal evaluation of a comprehensive community initiative intended to promote individual, family, neighborhood, and community well-being.
Russell D. Freed
Department: Crop & Soil Sciences
E-mail: freed@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~freed
My research looks at the role of agriculture in international development. I have extensive experience in international research management, design and evaluation. I also have a plant-breeding program in oats and canola. My research utilizes genetics to reduce pesticide use in our food system.
Stephen P. Gasteyer
Department: Sociology
E-mail: gasteyer@msu.edu
Web site: http://sociology.msu.edu/StephenGasteyer.html
Stephen Gasteyer, assistant professor of Sociology, researches the structures and processes that influence community level access to critical natural resources and capacity to manage those resources. His work currently looks at:
- The role of coalitions, social networks and social capital in the protecting water quality;
- Community capitals, coalitions, and the development of sustainable food systems;
- The factors that impact the capacity of communities to implement and manage water and wastewater infrastructure systems;
- The role of advocacy coalitions and social networks in water management and the development of coupled hydrologic, economic, and social network models for understanding of surface water-groundwater interactions for protection of instream flows.
His research focuses on the US, Middle East and West Africa.
Before coming to MSU, Gasteyer was on faculty in the Department of Human and Community Development (HCD) at University of Illinois. Prior to that, he was Research and Policy Director at the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP) in Washington, DC and a research consultant on issues of global water governance. Gasteyer was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali from 1987 through 1990, and worked from 1993 through 1998 in the Palestinian territories. Stephen received a BA from Earlham College in 1987, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Iowa State University in 2001.
Carole E. Gibbs
Department: Criminal Justice and Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: gibbsca1@msu.edu
Web site: http://criminaljustice.msu.edu/people/Detail.asp?ContactID=290&RecPos=21
Dr. Gibbs is an Assistant Professor at Michigan State University with a joint appointment in the School of Criminal Justice and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Her most recent research involves studying the relationship between corporate citizenship, sanctions, and environmental performance. Her other research interests include criminological theory, corporate crime, intersectionality, environmental crime, and environmental justice.
John P. Giesy
Department: Zoology
E-mail: jgiesy@aol.com
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~giesy
Currently, Prof. Giesy and his research group are actively studying the toxicity and reproductive effects of organic compounds, with special emphasis on herbicides, chlorinated dioxins and perfluorinated compounds. Studies are being conducted in the field and laboratory on frogs, fish, fish eating birds and mammals in the Great Lakes region, including mink and raptors such as hawks and eagles and in marine mammals. Prof. Giesy is an expert in ecological risk assessments of both industrial and agricultural chemicals. Prof. Giesy has been active in the development and application of methods for the assessment of the toxicity of contaminated sediments, especially in the North American Great Lakes
Prof. Giesy obtained Masters and Doctor of Philosophy Degrees in Limnology from MSU. He is currently Professor Emeritus at MSU where until 2006, he was Distinguished Professor of Zoology and on the faculties of the Integrative Toxicology and National Food Safety and Toxicology Centers. Currently, he is Professor and Canada Research Chair in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Saskatchewan. He is also Chair Professor at Large of Biology & Chemistry, at City University of Hong Kong and Concurrent Professor of Environmental Science at Nanjing University, China.
Lynne G. Goldstein
Department: Anthropology
E-mail: lynneg@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.environment.msu.edu/people/faculty.html#G
Lynne Goldstein is an archaeologist who has focused the majority of her research on Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region. She has worked extensively with Native American tribes in Wisconsin and elsewhere, and in addition to a regionally based, environmentally focused research program in Southeastern Wisconsin, Goldstein has examined late prehistoric societies and their mortuary practices. Her work on mortuary analysis has included both prehistoric and historic sites, Native American and European. She has done extensive, collaborative work with geologists on landscape use and change over time, as well as projects focused on the geomorphology of specific sites.
Meredith L. Gore
Department: Fisheries and Wildlife, School of Criminal Justice
E-mail: gorem@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~gorem
Meredith Gore is an Assistant Professor at MSU with a joint appointment in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and School of Criminal Justice. Meredith's research focuses on the human dimensions of wildlife management, public perceptions of wildlife-related risk, community-based natural resource management, human-wildlife conflict, and program evaluation. She is part of the Conservation Criminology core faculty. Meredith has conducted research in New York, The Great Lakes Basin, and Madagascar.
Jeffrey T. Grabill
Department: Writing, Rhetoric & American Cultures
E-mail: grabill@msu.edu
Web site: https://www.msu.edu/~wrac/faculty_staff/grabill.html
My research focuses on how to communicate with diverse audiences with respect to technical and scientific issues. In disciplinary terms, I work at the intersection of professional and technical writing, rhetorical theory, and literacy theory. I am interested in the literate and technological practices of citizens, users, workers, students, and other such people within complex institutional contexts. These interests have necessitated a concern with issues of public policy and the rather “mundane” procedures that lead to public policy, such as decision making about risk and health, the activities of citizen groups, and the plans of local communities and governments. My current work focuses on the ways in which information technologies are used (or not) to aid inquiry, decision making, and citizen action. This work deals with the design and use of information technologies as well as the rhetorical strategies non-expert audiences use to communicate in public contexts.
Sue C. Grady
Department: Geography
E-mail: gradys@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/grady.html
The focus of my research is medical (health) geography, human ecology, spatial epidemiology, and health disparity research. I utilize geographic information system applications and multilevel modeling to conduct exposure and health assessments. I am currently focusing on estimating spatial/geographic variations in adverse birth outcomes with respect to demographic, socioeconomic and environmental risk factors. I have a Master of Public Health degree in International Health and an interest in epidemiologic and health transition theory and policy and planning implications.
Edward J. Grafius
Department: Entomology
E-mail: grafius@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.ent.msu.edu/FacultyPages/grafius/tabid/125/Default.aspx
I conduct research and extension on ecology and management of vegetable insect pests at Michigan State University. My research interests include insect ecology, biological control, host plant resistance, integrated pest management, sustainable agroecosystems, and evolution of insecticide resistance.
A. Stuart Grandy
Department: Crop and Soil Sciences
E-mail: grandya1@msu.edu
Web site: https://www.msu.edu/~grandya1/stuartgrandy.html
My research examines how soil organisms interact with their environment to regulate ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling, organic matter turnover, trace gas emissions, and agricultural productivity. This research encompasses multiple spatial scales and lies at the interface of soil ecology, biogeochemistry, and agronomy. While I use a range of fundamental laboratory methods, which include molecular chemical and microbiological approaches, I always have an eye towards applying my results to improve ecosystem management.
Matthew Grieshop
Department: Entomology
E-mail: grieshop@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.ent.msu.edu/FacultyPages/Grieshop/tabid/168/Default.aspx
I joined the MSU department of Entomology in October of 2007 as the new Organic Pest Management faculty member. My responsibilities include research (50%), extension (25%), and teaching (25%) in the areas of organic agriculture and pest management. Although I am housed in Entomology I also have a strong interest in the management of weeds and pathogens and have several ongoing projects exploring how plant, insect, and pathogen pests interact with each other or with specific pest management tactics. My appointment is especially broad in that I am not restricted to a specific commodity group (i.e. fruit, field crops, vegetables, animal science, floriculture, etc.), rather my area of emphasis is on pest management issues in organic agriculture. The overall goal of my research and extension efforts are to develop, refine, and deliver pest management technologies that minimize off farm inputs while preserving farm economic sustainability.
Robert J. Griffore
Department: Family & Child Ecology
E-mail: griffore@msu.edu
Web site: http://families.msu.edu/FacultyBrowser.aspx?CategoryID=48
Some recent and current interests in the realm of scholarship and research include:
- Publication of a book on human ecology from a general systems point of view
- The ecology of bovine tuberculosis in Michigan – with special focus on Michigan farm families and on Michigan veterinarians
- Children's environmental health
- Preschool children's knowledge of the natural environment
- The school as an ecosystem and associated issues related to learning environments in the Detroit Public Schools
Richard E. Groop
Department: Geography
E-mail: groop@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/Groop/Groop.html
Conducts research on applications of geographic information systems, computer map design, and income and migration in Michigan and the United States.
Katherine L. Gross
Department: Plant Biology and Kellogg Biological Station
E-mail: kgross@kbs.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.kbs.msu.edu/faculty/gross/
I am broadly interested in the causes and consequences of species diversity in plant communities, particularly grasslands. My current research focuses on how variation in soil resources influences species diversity and composition, particularly in grasslands. We currently have ongoing two large field experiments in native grassland in SW Michigan …I am also interested in the determinants and consequences of diversity in agricultural ecosystems. As a co-PI on the KBS LTER project I have been monitoring the long-term effects of different crop management systems on the diversity and composition of weed communities in row crops. …The LTER work combined with my research on native grasslands has given me a greater appreciation of the challenges inherent in restoring native species in degraded grassland. My students and I have begun to work with local resource managers to develop experimental approaches that can guide the restoration and management of native grasslands in this area.
Geoffrey Habron
Department: Fisheries and Wildlife and Sociology
E-mail: habrong@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~habrong
Adaptive Approaches to Democratic Resource Management Inquiry; Community-based Adaptive Watershed Management (community-based conservation, adaptive management, watershed management, ecosystem management); whole systems thinking and practice; participatory action research and learning; integration of social and ecological factors in natural resource management; geographic information systems.
Kimberly R. Hall
Department: Forestry, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Fisheries and Wildlife
E-mail: hallkim@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.csis.msu.edu/personnel/hall_kim.htm
My research interests focus on the potential effects of climate change on vertebrates, and on integrating conservation of wildlife (especially forest songbirds) into landscape-scale forest management plans. I completed both an M.S. and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and Environment. My dissertation focused on evaluating the impacts of overabundant white-tailed deer on the breeding success and spatial patterns of habitat use in an understory-dependent songbird, the black-throated blue warbler. This work incorporated geographic boundary analysis, a relatively novel suite of statistical tools for identifying patterns of spatial clustering, and detecting spatial regions with highest rates of change. Currently, I am part of an interdisciplinary research group that is developing an integrated ecological/economic model of the effects of timber harvest and deer density in northern Michigan on forest regeneration, songbird biodiversity, and economic values. Other projects include applying novel statistical approaches to modeling impacts of climate change on vertebrates in California, and work with The Nature Conservancy on modeling stopover habitat for migratory birds in the Great Lakes region.
Stephen K. Hamilton
Department: Zoology
E-mail: hamilton@kbs.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.kbs.msu.edu/faculty/hamilton/
My principal research interests involve ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry, with particular attention to aquatic environments and the movement of water through landscapes. I am especially interested in running waters, wetlands and floodplains. I also like to consider ecosystem processes at the landscape or watershed scale, and I prefer to do research that contributes to our understanding of environmental problems or improves our ability to manage ecosystems. My research has dealt with South American floodplains, Michigan streams and wetlands, zebra mussels in Michigan lakes, and the linkages among agriculture, water quality, carbon sequestration, and global change.
Jay R. Harman
Department: Geography
E-mail: harman@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/harman.html
I am interested in environmental ethics, with lesser emphases in climatology, plant geography of North America, and utilization of plant nectar sources by honeybees.
Craig K. Harris
Department: Sociology
E-mail: harrisc@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~harrisc/
My background is in environmental sociology and sociological human ecology. Much of my research has focused on the social dimensions of the relationships between agriculture and the environment (especially pest management and fertility management), and on the social dimensions of the relationships between fisheries and the environment (especially fisheries management and technological change). I have also studied the linkages between energy and society, and the social dimensions of bovine tuberculosis. In my work on these various topics, I use a multilevel approach that looks at the interactions among the social psychology of human actors, the dynamics of communities and organizations, and the macro-level processes of culture and governance. As much as possible, I study reciprocal systemic interactions between social factors and elements at different scales of the biophysical environment.
Syed A. Hashsham
Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering
E-mail: hashsham@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/~hashsham/
Dr. Hashsham's research focuses on three closely related areas: i) understanding how complex microbial communities work, ii) development of parallel detection tools and low cost hand-held devices for gene-based diagnostics, and iii) development/evaluation of processes relevant to environmental biotechnology. Current projects focus on the development of hand-held gene analyzer, DNA biochips for parallel screening of pathogens, and approaches to enhance detection limit (e.g., using single photon detectors) and sample concentration and processing. Dr. Hashsham is also interested in developing mathematical tools to describe the behavior of mixed microbial communities.
Daniel B. Hayes
Department: Fisheries and Wildlife
E-mail: hayesdan@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~hayesdan/
My primary research interest is to determine how fish habitat affects their population dynamics. By linking population dynamics with habitat, I hope to help fishery managers in their goal of sustaining valuable fisheries. In addition to this, I am also interested in the impact of fishing on fish populations, as well as the general ecology of fishes. To accomplish these interests, I generally take a mathematical modeling or statistical approach to problem solving. I also try to take advantage of opportunities to do whole-system manipulations as I feel this is one of the best ways to understand ecosystem functioning.
Robert Hitchcock
Department: Anthropology
E-mail: hitchc16@msu.edu
Web site: http://anthropology.msu.edu/faculty/hitchcock.shtml
Robert Hitchcock (BA, University of California-Santa Barbara, MA, Ph.D. Anthropology, U New Mexico, 1982) is a professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology. He has worked with San peoples in Botswana, Namibia, and Zimbabwe for the past 30 years. In addition, he has worked with indigenous peoples in Guatemala, Hawaii, California, Canada, the Great Plains, and the southwest, as well as with various groups in eastern and central Africa (e.g. in Somalia, Uganda, and Gabon). In 1996 he published Kalahari Communities: Bushmen and the Politics of the Environment in Southern Africa (IWGIA, Copenhagen, 1996). He is the co-editor of Hunters and Gatherers in the Modern World: Conflict, Resistance, and Self-Determination (Berghahn Books, 2000). In 2002, he co-edited Endangered Peoples of Africa and the Middle East: Struggles to Survive and Thrive (Greenwood, 2002) and he is the co-editor of Indigenous Peoples' Rights in Southern Africa (IWGIA, 2004). Currently, he is doing a book on indigenous peoples' rights for Routledge and, with Megan Biesele, a book on the Ju/’hoansi of Nyae Nyae, Namibia for Berghahn. Hitchcock has worked for IWGIA on the evaluation of programs aimed at assisting San peoples in Botswana. He is a member of the Board and past co-president of the Kalahari Peoples Fund (KPF), an advocacy organization that provides assistance to San, Nama, and other peoples of southern Africa. He is also a member of the Panel of Environmental Experts for the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, the largest water project in Africa. At present, Hitchcock is working with Sudanese and Ogoni refugees who have resettled in the Great Plains of the United States, and with Native Americans involved in resource management programs.
John P. Hoehn
Department: Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
E-mail: hoehn@msu.edu
Web site: http://aec.msu.edu/faculty/hoehn.htm
John Hoehn’s teaching and research activities address the benefit-cost analysis of environmental improvements; methods for valuing non-market goods; improved institutions for protecting, managing, and using environmental resources; and the economics of ecological resources. He teaches core courses in the departmental and university-wide graduate programs in environmental and resource economics Recent research projects include estimating the demands for water quality improvements in Michigan’s lakes and rivers; evaluating improved institutions and methods for ecosystem restoration; assessing the economic values of coastal wetlands; estimating willingness to pay for municipal water and wastewater services; and evaluating the economic alternatives for controlling hazardous wastes and toxic residues.
Richard D. Horan
Department: Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
E-mail: horan@msu.edu
Web site: http://aec.msu.edu/faculty/horan.htm
Phil H. Howard
Department: Community, Agriculture, Recreation & Resource Studies
E-mail: howardp@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~howardp/
My research focuses on investigating the relationships between food, agriculture and public health, as well as assisting communities to characterize and respond to changes in the food system. My current projects focus on: 1) Consolidation in the food system, particularly in the rapidly growing organic sector; 2) 'Food environments' and their potential influence on obesity and hypertension; and 3) National consumer interest in 'ecolabels' as a potential strategy for improving the livelihoods of small- and medium-scale farms.
Zachary Y. Huang
Department: Entomology
E-mail: bees@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.ent.msu.edu/FacultyPages/huang/tabid/138/Default.aspx
Almost anything related to honey bees interests Huang. Current research topics include: effect of Nosema apis on worker behavior and physiology, reproductive biology of Varroa mites, cloning the sodium channel genes of the Varroa mite to determine if mutation of this gene is responsible for mite resistance to Apistan (in collaboration with Ke Dong), effect of transgenic pollen on health of honey bees and as possible agents for pest control, and the role of melatonin in regulating social behavior in honey bee workers. He is the webmaster of a popular web site on bees, cyberbee.msu.edu and teaches two courses (Insect Physiology and Apiculture and Pollination). He recently invented a new device for Varroa mite control and a patent was granted to MSU.
Richard C. Hula
Department: Political Science
E-mail: rhula@msu.edu
Web site: http://polisci.msu.edu/index.php/people/faculty/item/faculty/richard-hula
My research focuses on broad issues of urban politics and public policy. I initially became interested in environmental policy as brownfields redevelopment was increasingly presented as a strategy for urban revitalization. My focus has since expanded on other brownfield issues including:
- The process of bureaucratic change with respect to agency goals (public health to economic development)
- The role of citizen involvement in redevelopment planning and implementation
- Social justice issues in environmental policy
- The interaction of "hard science" and environmental policy (particularly with respect to site standards)
David W. Hyndman
Department: Geological Sciences
E-mail: hyndman@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.glg.msu.edu/people/hyndman/hyndman.html
Our research explores the physical and chemical processes that influence groundwater flow and solute transport, and the factors that affect seismic and electromagnetic wave propagation. We combine multiple independent geophysical and hydrologic datasets through three-dimensional numerical simulations to estimate aquifer properties with high resolution. The influence of these properties on groundwater flow, solute transport, and bioremediation of organic contaminants is also an active area of research in our group. We also explore the influence of climate and land use changes on the flux of water and solutes through regional watersheds, and the influence of these factors on ecological health.
Dana M. Infante
Department: Fisheries and Wildlife
E-mail: infanted@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~infanted
I am interested in understanding the influence of landscape features and processes on aquatic organisms and quantifying the mechanisms by which that influence occurs. My experience examining hierarchical relationships between landscape factors and stream ecosystem variables includes the study of indirect landscape controls on Michigan fish assemblages through effects on stream channel shape as well as a comprehensive study of landscape effects on fish and macroinvertebrates through multiple measures of habitat in stream catchments of southeast Michigan. I am interested in questions of spatial variability (i.e., do mechanisms vary with scale, by region?), and in the applicability of different analytical techniques for addressing these questions. Because successful protection and management of aquatic systems requires an understanding of mechanisms of impairment, I have a broad goal of performing research that benefits management while ensuring sustainability.
Nan E. Johnson
Department: Sociology
E-mail: johnsonn@msu.edu
Web site: http://sociology.msu.edu/njohnson.html
Nan E. Johnson holds a joint appointment in the Department of Sociology, where she teaches Social Demography, and in the Agricultural Experiment Station, where she conducts research. Her research intersects Demography, Gerontology, and Rural Sociology. Her work explores differences between rural and urban elders in the social production of disability and its remediation through assistive technology and personal help.
L. Michael Jones
Department: Fisheries and Wildlife
E-mail: jonesm30@msu.edu
Web site: http://glpd.fw.msu.edu/Mike/
I teach and conduct research in fish population dynamics and ecology, resource management, and simulation modeling. I am especially interested in how uncertainty and risk affect resource management decision-making. I work closely with fishery management agencies to apply my research findings to current and emerging management issues.
Satish Joshi
Department: Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
E-mail: satish@msu.edu
Web site: http://aec.msu.edu/faculty/joshi.htm
My research interests are mainly in corporate environmental management, and economic and environmental analyses of emerging bio-fuel, bio-fiber and bio-plastic industries. My current funded research projects include:
- Developing life cycle environmental impact analysis tools for engineering design and watershed management
- Developing methods for estimating hidden costs of environmental regulations not identified by firm accounting systems
- Analyzing the role of information in improving firm profitability and stock market returns
- Analyzing the impacts of the ban on MTBE, renewable fuel standards and new ozone standards on corn-ethanol demand and Michigan agriculture
- Economic and environmental assessment of lignocellulosic ethanol as a transportation fuel
- Life cycle analysis of natural fiber composites and bioplastics
Andrey Kalinichev
Department: Chemistry
E-mail: kalinich@chemistry.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~kalinich/
Linda Kalof
Department: Sociology
E-mail: lkalof@msu.edu
Web site: http://sociology.msu.edu/lkalof.html
Linda Kalof is Professor of Sociology, a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and founder of the MSU's interdisciplinary graduate specialization in Animal Studies: Humanities & Social Science Perspectives. Using a visual studies framework, she studies the cultural representations of humans and other animals and the links between culture and nature. She has published more than 30 articles and book chapters and seven books including: Looking at Animals in Human History, A Cultural History of Animals in Antiquity, The Animals Reader, Essentials of Social Research, and A Reader in Environmental Values. In addition to serving as a General Editor for the multi-volume Cultural History of Animals, she also edits the forthcoming Cultural History of the Human Body, A Cultural History of Women and the Encyclopedia of Earth's sections on Animals & Society and Environmental Philosophy. She is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who in the World.
Norbert E. Kaminski
Department: Pharmacology & Toxicology
E-mail: kamins11@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.phmtox.msu.edu/people/faculty.html
Norbert Kaminski’s research interests are in the areas of immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology. Currently, he has several ongoing research projects, each of which is focused on identifying the mechanisms by which specific agents alter normal responses of the immune system. One major research focus is to elucidate the molecular mechanism by which biologically active compounds derived from the Cannabis sativa plant, termed cannabinoids, and cannabinoid-like endogenous molecules alter T lymphocyte function. A second research emphasis is to elucidate the molecular mechanism by which halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, including dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls, alter B lymphocyte function. A third major research focus is to elucidate the immunological mechanisms involved in chemical- and protein-mediated allergic airway disease. The overarching research focus is to develop a better understanding of the alterations in signal transduction and gene expression induced by immunotoxicants compromising immune competence.
Michael Kaplowitz
Department: Community, Agriculture, Recreation & Resource Studies
E-mail: kaplowit@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~kaplowit/
Michael D. Kaplowitz has published more than two books, five book chapters, and 20 peer-reviewed articles in journals including American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Duke Environmental Law and Policy Forum, Ecological Economics, Journal of the American Water Resources Association, and the Journal of Environmental Planning & Management. Kaplowitz is PI or co-PI on more than $2 million of research grants in the areas of ecosystem valuation, watershed management, and land use. His current research includes a nationwide examination of wetland mitigation banking, a study of economic values of Great Lakes coastal wetland ecosystems, an investigation of the nation’s transfer of development rights programs, and some watershed-level studies of best management practices.
Stan Kaplowitz
Department: Sociology
E-mail: kaplowi1@msu.edu
Web site: http://sociology.msu.edu/skaplowitz.html
James J. Kells
Department: Crop and Soil Sciences
E-mail: kells@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~kells
Dr. Kell's research revolves around weed science, integrated pest management and the biology of perennial weeds. He is also the extension specialist in weed control-corn, small grains, and forages.
John M. Kerr
Department: Community, Agriculture, Recreation & Resource Studies
E-mail: jkerr@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.carrs.msu.edu/faculty/viewPage.php?netID=jkerr
David D. Kim
Department: Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages
E-mail: ddkim@msu.edu
Web site: http://linglang.msu.edu/german/people/faculty/kim.php
Daniel B. Kramer
Department: Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: dbk@msu.edu
Web site: https://www.msu.edu/~dbk/index.htm
I have a joint appointment between James Madison College and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. My research examines the social, economic and policy aspects of the conservation of biodiversity. Recently, I have researched the role of social capital in the stewardship activities of lake associations. I have also used simulation models to study the effects of variations in fishermen behavior on coral reef ecosystems. Currently I am examining the conservation implications of the connection of a dozen small, isolated communities long the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. In Michigan, I am studying the processes of residential development near protected areas. Details of my current research are here. My teaching interests include domestic and international environmental policy, sustainable development, globalization and the environment, the social economic, and policy aspects of conservation biology, game theory, and quantitative methods.
Douglas A. Landis
Department: Entomology
E-mail: landisd@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.ent.msu.edu/FacultyPages/landisd/tabid/136/Default.aspx
I am interested in the application of ecological theory to problems of importance in entomology and natural resource management. Together with my students, I attempt to understand the influence of landscape structure on insect ecology and management, particularly in regard to biological control of insects and weeds. I hope to use these insights to aid in the design of sustainable landscapes that promote arthropod-mediated ecosystem services such as pollination and pest suppression. I am also interested in the invasive species ecology and management, and in the conservation and restoration of rare species and communities.
Maria Knight Lapinski
Department: Communication, National Food Safety and Toxicology Center and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station
E-mail: lapinsk3@msu.edu
Web site: http://hrcc.cas.msu.edu/people/lapinski/lapinski.html
Maria Knight Lapinski (Michigan State University, 2000) researches health and risk communication and is joint-appointed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center, and the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station at Michigan State University. She researches the impact of messages and social-psychological factors on health and environmental risk behaviors with an interest in culturally-based variability to this end she has worked on research in a number of countries in Asia, Central America, Africa and the Pacific Rim. Her work has been published in public health and communication journals and is funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
John J. LaPres
Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
E-mail: lapres@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.bch.msu.edu/faculty/lapres.htm
John LaPres’ research is focused on the PAS superfamily of proteins and their role in toxicity. Specifically, he is interested in the signaling of dioxins and PCBs through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and the role cofactors play in this toxic pathway. His secondary interests lie in the role hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs) play in tumor growth, angiogenesis and metal induced toxicity and transformation. His laboratory is focusing on characterizing the gene expression profiles of various cell lines and tissues following treatment to environmentally important metals, including nickel, cadmium and chromium. This approach has given us extensive experience in the production, application and analysis of cDNA microarrays. Our toxicogenomic studies will focus on critically evaluating identified genes for their role in metal induced toxicity.
Grahame J. Larson
Department: Geological Sciences
E-mail: larsong@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~larsong/
My research interests include glacial hydrology and Quaternary geology. With respect to glacial hydrology I am involved in defining the origin and pathway of subglacial discharge associated with temperate glaciers. This generally involves quantifying discharge from the terminus of a glacier and separating flow components using isotopic characteristics of the discharge. My interests in Quaternary geology include sedimentology of glaciogenic deposits that occur along the margin of modern glaciers as well as those left behind by icesheets that once covered the Great Lakes basin. This often includes studying the micromorphology of the deposits. Current projects involve working at the Matanuska Glacier in southern Alaska with a team of researchers from Lehigh University, Penn State University, Augustana College and the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research Laboratory. Of particular concern to the team is the origin of basal ice and debris bands that occur near the glacier terminus. Also of interest is defining flow components of meltwater discharge from the glacier and investigating the micromorphologic characteristics of glaciogenic sediments near the glacier margin.
Jennifer Lau
Department: Kellogg Biological Station and Plant Biology
E-mail: jenlau@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.kbs.msu.edu/faculty/lau/
My research bridges community ecology and evolutionary biology to explore how plants interact with both the biotic and abiotic environment and how they respond simultaneously to multiple selective pressures. Much of my work focuses on how environmental perturbations, such as biological invasions and climate change, affect the population biology of native species, species interactions, and the evolutionary trajectories of plant populations. Ongoing projects investigate plant responses to both natural and anthropogenic environmental perturbations, with the long-term goal of understanding how environmental changes impact plant populations both ecologically and evolutionarily.
Larry A. Leefers
Department: Forestry
E-mail: leefers@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.for.msu.edu/pages/faculty/leefers_l.html
I conduct research on natural resources valuation--focusing mostly now on hedonic pricing (effects of different natural resource attributes on property values), natural resource accounting, risk analysis (focus on jack pine budworm mostly), and spatial/temporal harvest scheduling based on economics, ecological characteristics and landscape ecology concepts.
Jay Lennon
Department: Kellogg Biological Station and Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
E-mail: lennonja@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.kbs.msu.edu/faculty/lennon/
My research is motivated by the effects of resource variability on ecosystem structure and function. Changes in the source and supply of resources have profound effects on important ecological attributes including nutrient cycling, productivity, and the way in which species interact with one another. This overarching theme has inspired most of my research efforts to date, including questions related to the spread of invasive species, cultural eutrophication, microbial controls on carbon flow, and most recently, the influence of nutrient supply on the coevolution of marine viruses and their bacterial hosts. I address these broad topics with simulation modeling, laboratory experiments, mesocosm studies, and comparative surveys.
Richard Lenski
Department: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Zoology, and Crop and Soil Sciences
E-mail: lenski@msu.edu
Web site: http://myxo.css.msu.edu/index.html
The main focus of research in my lab is on experimental evolution. Evolution is usually investigated using the comparative method or by studying fossils. Our approach is to watch evolution, as it happens, during experiments that are replicated and performed under defined conditions. Studying "evolution in action" requires either a time machine (which we don't have) or else organisms that replicate, mutate, and evolve quickly, so that we can observe phenotypic and genetic changes across many generations. In our research, we perform experiments with two different fast-evolving systems: bacteria (especially E. coli) and "digital organisms" (self-replicating computer programs).
Shu-Guang Li
Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering
E-mail: lishug@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/~lishug/
Dr. Li and his research team are investigating better ways to analyze and model flow and contaminant transport in complex groundwater systems. Dr. Li is particularly interested in the effects of heterogeneity, scale interactions, uncertainty propagation, interactions with surface water, and integrated tools that can adapt to complex field conditions across multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Hui Li
Department: Crop and Soil Sciences
E-mail: lihui@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~lihui
Dr. Li's research and teaching area is environmental and soil chemistry, with an emphasis on (1) Environmental occurrence and fate of emerging contaminants, (2) Interaction of pharmaceuticals/organic contaminants/pesticides with soils and soil components, (3) Plant uptake of organic contaminants, (4) Environmental remediation technology, (5) Soil fertility and nutrient cycling.
Julie Libarkin
Department: Geological Sciences, Division of Science and Mathematics Education
E-mail: libarkin@msu.edu
Web site: https://www.msu.edu/~libarkin
Arika Ligmann-Zielinska
Department: Geography
E-mail: ligmannz@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~ligmannz
My research interests encompass a broad range of modeling approaches that capture the dynamic relationship between human decision making and land use change. The philosophical approach to modeling that I employ is rather unorthodox and focuses on exploring generative 'computational laboratories' rather than predicting future growth scenarios based on fine-tuned elaborate models. My research has focused on GIS-coupled modeling for spatial decision support systems and in particular: [1] Generating land use alternatives with multiobjective land use allocation, [2] Exploring land use alternatives with spatial agent-based simulation, and [3] Modeling choices - designing algorithms for spatial option exploration, spatial choice, and sensitivity analysis of spatial decision making. Other themes of interest include spatial analysis, environmental geography and sustainability, and water resource use.
Elena G. Litchman
Department: Zoology
E-mail: litchman@kbs.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.kbs.msu.edu/faculty/litchman/
I am interested in how the interplay of biotic and abiotic factors structures phytoplankton communities in both freshwater and marine environments. Currently our lab focuses on the following questions:
Effects of Temporal and Spatial Heterogeneity on Phytoplankton Communities We have been looking at how fluctuating resources such as light and nutrients affect competition and coexistence in phytoplankton. We are also interested in identifying and testing the mechanisms leading to heterogeneous vertical distributions of phytoplankton, such as subsurface chlorophyll maxima.
Ecological Traits, Trade-offs and Community Structure We seek to understand how ecological traits and trade-offs determine plankton community structure under different environmental conditions. Using laboratory experiments and data analysis, we characterize growth and resource utilization traits, trade-offs and ecological strategies of major phytoplankton functional groups from both freshwater and marine environments. We then use mechanistic models to explain and predict the occurrence and dominance of these phytoplankton groups. We test model predictions in laboratory experiments with phytoplankton communities.
Global Change Effects I have a keen interest in how different aspects of the human-induced global change will impact aquatic ecosystems, phytoplankton communities in particular. Among the factors we have been looking at are the increased ultraviolet (UV) radiation and the increased concentration of greenhouse gases changing temperature, precipitation and water circulation. Using experiments and models we investigate how these factors may alter phytoplankton community structure and dynamics.
Jianguo (Jack) Liu
Department: Center for Systems Integration & Sustainability
E-mail: jliu@panda.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.csis.msu.edu/personnel/liu_jianguo.htm
Jack Liu’s research interests include conservation ecology, landscape ecology, human-environment interactions, systems modeling and simulation, and impacts of human population and activity on spatio-temporal dynamics of endangered species such as the giant panda in China. He is keenly interested in integrating ecology with socioeconomics as well as human demography (e.g., household dynamics) and behavior for understanding and managing patterns, processes and sustainability of biodiversity and natural resources/ecosystem services across multiple temporal and spatial scales.
David T. Long
Department: Geological Sciences
E-mail: long@msu.edu
Web site: http://geology.msu.edu/long-d.html
Research interests are:
- Finding solutions to environmental and ecosystem health issues.
- Geochemical, isotopic, and microbiological controls on the evolution of water.
- Understanding biogeochemical cycles at watershed and regional scales using sediment chronologies.
Scott T. Loveridge
Department: Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
E-mail: loverid2@msu.edu
Web site: http://aec.msu.edu/faculty/loveridge.htm
Scott Loveridge’s interests span community, environment, economic development, and agriculture. A native of Kalamazoo, Michigan, he completed an undergraduate degree in biology, and served as a Peace Corps Fisheries Volunteer in Zaire. His master's thesis topic was on Michigan farmer cooperatives, and his PhD dissertation focused on food security for rural people in Rwanda. He previously served as a member of the faculty at the University of Minnesota, and at West Virginia University (initially also Director of the Division of Community Economic Development, and later as Director of the Regional Research Institute). As State Leader, Community Development Programs for MSU Extension, he mentors teams working on community development, economic development, land use, leadership development, state and local government, tourism development, and urban revitalization.
William A. Lovis
Department: Anthropology
E-mail: lovis@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.anthropology.msu.edu/faculty/lovis.shtml
My research involves the coupling between human and natural systems. In particular, I undertake work on responses of past human systems to Holocene paleoenvironmental changes in the Great Lakes and in England/Western Europe from 10000 BP to the onset of industrialization. I have been collaborating in multidisciplinary frameworks designed to assess the relationship between hunter/gatherer and early horticultural systems and changes in climate, vegetation, and landscape. These collaborations involve anthropology, geology, geography, and botany. I am currently engaged in macroscale synthetic work in both the Saginaw Valley of Michigan and northern Yorkshire.
Frank Lupi
Department: Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
E-mail: lupi@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~lupi
Frank has a joint appointment in the Agricultural Economics and Fisheries and Wildlife Departments. He is a member of the Partnership for Ecosystem Research and Management. His recent research focuses on modeling Michigan fish and wildlife resource demand and value. Current projects address resource management issues in Michigan and the Great Lakes including the valuation of wetland services; benefit-cost analysis of hydropower streamflow mandates; potential damages of aquatic nuisance species; and public preferences for deer populations.
David P. Lusch
Department: Geography
E-mail: lusch@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/lusch/lusch2.htm
- Applications of remote sensing and/or geographic information systems to problem-solving in agriculture, natural resources, and human health
- Meso-scale hydrogeology for aquifer vulnerability assessments and community ground-water protection planning
- Mapping Land Use/Land Cover and its change
- Spatial analysis of landform/soil/vegetation relationships
- Glacial geomorphology of Michigan
- Ecoregion mapping and management especially the nexus of landscape ecology, cultural ecology, and political ecology
Carolyn M. Malmstrom
Department: Plant Biology
E-mail: carolynm@msu.edu
Web site: http://plantbiology.msu.edu/faculty/faculty-research/carolyn-malmstrom/
My lab studies ecosystem and landscape dynamics. We are particularly interested in understanding how ecosystems respond to perturbations, such as changes in disturbance regimes or the introduction of exotic species. We use the best technology from a range of disciplines to solve problems and advance our work. Current projects incorporate molecular approaches with field work and spatial tools such as GPS, GIS, and remote sensing. We work closely with land managers and conservation agencies when designing our projects to ensure that our work not only makes important contributions to basic science questions but also advances understanding in areas of significant interest to society as a whole.
Phanikumar S. Mantha
Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering
E-mail: phani@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/~phani
Research interests in our group include the fate and transport of contaminants in surface water and groundwater, multicomponent reactive transport modeling involving biological and chemical agents, as well as environmental and geophysical fluid dynamics. The focus of our current research is on understanding near-shore processes in coastal regions and the transport of pathogens in the environment. We are particularly interested in integrating laboratory and field-scale observations with modeling to learn about processes and parameters (and how they change across multiple scales).
Sandra Marquart-Pyatt
Department: Sociology and Environmental Science and Policy Program
E-mail: s.marquartpyatt@usu.edu
Susan J. Masten
Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering
E-mail: masten@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/cee/people/masten.html
Professor Masten's research involves the use of chemical oxidants for the remediation of water, soils, and leachates contaminated with hazardous organic chemicals. Her research is presently focused on the a novel hybrid catalytic ozone-ceramic membrane system for the treatment of drinking water contaminated with pharmaceuticals and other organic chemicals and the control of disinfection by-products. Dr. Masten is also very interested in evaluating the toxicity of the by-products of chemical oxidation processes.
Professor Masten has also directed project involving the use ozone in combination with fixed film biological treatment for the control of disinfection-byproducts formed from the ozonation of waters containing humic substances.
Aaron M. McCright
Department: Sociology
E-mail: mccright@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.lymanbriggs.msu.edu/previous/people/bios/user.cfm?UserID=25
Aaron M. McCright (Ph.D., Washington State University) holds a joint academic appointment in Lyman Briggs College and the Department of Sociology. He specializes in environmental sociology, political sociology, and sociology of science. Much of his work examines the relationships among social movements, countermovements, and the structure of power within the state--particularly concerning problems of environmental degradation and technological risks. He currently conducts research in five areas: (a) climate change skepticism; (b) climate change media coverage and public opinion; (c) the effects of globalization processes on natural resource management practices in formerly remote communities; (d) the ideas of European grand theorists on societal risk and risk management; and (e) the dynamics of scientific practices at tropical field stations.
Deborah G. McCullough
Department: Entomology
E-mail: mccullo6@msue.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.ent.msu.edu/FacultyPages/mccullo6/tabid/115/Default.aspx
Dr. McCullough has an active research, extension and teaching program in forest entomology. She works closely with state and federal agencies, foresters, Christmas tree growers and property owners on issues related to forest insects and forest health. Dr. McCullough's research addresses the impacts and contributing factors associated with damaging forest insect populations and the development of long-term management strategies to conserve or enhance forest health. Research interests include invasive forest insect ecology, impacts and management; dynamics of forest insect populations; silvicultural and biological control of forest insect pests; and effects of disturbance on forest insect communities.
Edmund F. McGarrell
Department: Criminal Justice
E-mail: mcgarrell@msu.edu
Web site: http://criminaljustice.msu.edu/people/Detail.asp?page=2&ContactID=311&RecPos=40
Edmund F. McGarrell is Director and Professor of the School of Criminal Justice at MSU. McGarrell also co-chairs MSU's multi-disciplinary research initiative on Risk, Values, and Decisions. His research interests are in the area of communities and crime and have included an emphasis on building analytical tools to support greater understanding and more effective strategies for prevention and control of crime and violence. He currently is Principal Investigator of several studies of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a national program intended to reduce gun, gang, and drug-related violence. He is also Co-PI on several projects related to law enforcement intelligence and supply chain security. Through his roles as academic liaison to the Environmental Crimes Committee of the EPA-International Association of Chiefs of Police as well as with MSU's Risk Initiative, he is working to build a research and education program in Conservation Criminology. Specifically, he is collaborating with faculty in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, School of Criminal Justice, and the Environmental Science and Policy Program to examine the nature and scope of environmental crime and the systems of compliance and enforcement in natural resource protection and management. This includes building data systems related to environmental crime and human-made threats to natural resources, community policing models applied to resource protection, and international illicit markets and the associated threats to natural resources. An initial project done in collaboration with Interpol's Pollution Crimes Committee involves a study of the international trade in electronic waste.
Laurie K. Medina
Department: Anthropology
E-mail: medina@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.anthropology.msu.edu/faculty/medina.shtml
I'm an Associate Professor of the Anthropology Department's program in Culture, Resources, and Power. My research engages environmental issues through a focus on "sustainable development," ecotourism, and the management of protected areas.
With funding from the MacArthur Foundation, between 2002 and 2004, I conducted research on efforts to implement ecotourism in several Maya villages in the forests of southern Belize. Ecotourism aims to harmonize development aspirations with conservation priorities to generate "sustainable development." The creation of protected areas in southern Belize and the promotion of tourism to those protected areas have incorporated residents of nearby villages into debates over environmentalist and development agendas that are simultaneously local and global in scope. Maya villagers negotiate with government officials, upscale tourism entrepreneurs, international development donors, tourists, national and international environmentalist NGOs over a range of questions: What are the goals of development and conservation? How should those goals be prioritized? How might they be integrated? What rights and resources should local communities enjoy? What structures and processes for managing protected areas and tourism will satisfy the various stakeholders involved in implementing ecotourism? What kinds of knowledge ('local', 'expert') should be recognized in managing protected areas? The project also explores negotiations among village residents themselves over issues such as the gendered impact of ecotourism, the ways that inequalities among villagers enable or limit participation in ecotourism, and representations of Maya culture in tourism. Since contests over the concepts of 'environment' and 'development' in southern Belize are linked to Maya struggles for land and autonomy, my research also explores Maya communities' efforts to mobilize alliances with indigenous rights and environmentalist NGOs to pursue claims to land.
Haddish Melakeberhan
Department: Agricultural Nematology Laboratory
E-mail: melakebe@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.agriculturalnematology.anr.msu.edu/
I am an Agricultural Nematologist with major research emphasis on i) understanding soil-nutrient-nematode interactions, ii) nematode adaptation and parasitic (genetic) variability, and iii) assessing agroecological feasibility, efficiency, and sustainability of management strategies. A major challenge to exploiting the multipurpose use of soil amendments applied to manage nematodes only and/or including other yield-limiting factors has been identifying the right conditions why, where and when they work or do not work. Using fertilizer use efficiency (FUE) analysis, we have developed a model that distinguishes clusters of interactions with cross- and multi-disciplinary applications. Modifying the FUE model's multi-dimensional applications is major emphasis of my program.
Richard W. Merritt
Department: Entomology
E-mail: merrittr@msu.edu
Web site: https://www.msu.edu/user/merrittr/
Dr. Merritt's major research interests focus on the feeding ecology, animal microbial interactions, population dynamics, and influence of environmental factors on immature aquatic insects, especially the Diptera. His most recent research has concentrated on the ecology of an emerging disease, Buruli Ulcer, in Africa which involves insects, biomonitoring of streams and rivers, the effects of pollutants on aquatic ecosystems, and the role of marine-derived nutrients (salmon carcasses) on aquatic insect communities in Alaskan streams. He also is involved in the field of Forensic Entomology, and assists police departments in crime scene investigations involving insects. He has co-edited three editions of a textbook entitled, "An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America", and, a book entitled, "Black Flies: Ecology, Population Management, and Annotated World List." Dr. Merritt received the MSU Distinguished Faculty Award in 2004 and the North American Benthological Society's Award of Excellence in Research in 2007.
Joseph P. Messina
Department: Geography, Center for Global Change and Earth Observations
E-mail: jpm@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~jpm/
My research program focuses broadly upon Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) and the techniques and theoretical methods that allow one to explore the spatio-temporal dynamics of change, including, Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing, Complexity Theory, and Dynamic Spatial Simulation Models. Funding sources include the NASA, NSF, DOD, and Michigan Department of Community Health. I have published on diverse topics and regions including: land use theory, remote sensing techniques, the drug war in Colombia, land cover changes in East Africa, spatial statistics in the the Rocky Mountains, and health care access in Michigan, among many others.
Kelly F. Millenbah
Department: Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: millenba@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~millenba
Kelly F. Millenbah is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. She is also an adjunct faculty member in James Madison College. Dr. Millenbah earned her B.A. degree in Biology from Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Fisheries and Wildlife at MSU. Dr. Millenbah currently teaches Introduction to Science, Technology, Environment and Public Policy (FW / MC 181 - one of the gateway courses to STEPPS); Applications of GIS to Natural Resources Management (FW 419); and Restoration Ecology (FW 443). She is also a co-instructor for Teaching and Learning in the Applied Sciences (AN 886). Millenbah has taught Population Analysis and Management (FW 424) and Study Abroad courses in Australia and Kenya as well. Her research program focuses on the conservation and management of disturbed and damaged ecosystems with implications toward unexploited and protected species (i.e., threatened and endangered species), more broadly termed restoration ecology. Dr. Millenbah is a past Eli Lilly Teaching Fellow and ESCOP Intern with the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.
Georgina Montgomery
Department: History and Lyman Briggs College
E-mail: montg165@msu.edu
Web site: http://lymanbriggs.msu.edu/faculty/bios/user.cfm?UserID=72
Dr. Georgina Montgomery is a historian of science with a joint appointment in Lyman Briggs College and the Department of History. With graduate training in primatology and ethology, her research and teaching engages issues of interest to scholars and students in the humanities and sciences. Dr. Montgomery's research and teaching focuses on the history of field science, particularly primatology and animal behavior studies. She is interested in the places and practices used in the study of animals, how these sites and methods developed over time, and the kinds of human-animal relationships that occurred there. These research interests are central to her teaching, with courses such as HIST 110: Animal Histories looking at historical human-animal relationships in the zoo, laboratory, and field. Questions concerning the categories of captive and wild, laboratory and field, also form the heart of her LBC 133: Introduction to the History, Philosophy and Sociology of Science course. Looking ahead to next year, Dr. Montgomery will co-teach a 400-level seminar on anthropomorphism with Dr. Michael Nelson, a colleague in Lyman Briggs College and Fisheries & Wildlife.
Dr. Montgomery is the conference organizer for Animals: Past, Present and Future, an interdisciplinary and international conference concerning animal husbandry, pet-keeping, animal experimentation, environmental ethics, and anthropomorphism. For more information, including registration form and preliminary program, visit: here.
Nathan Moore
Department: Geography
E-mail: moorena@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~moorena
My research interests are in regional climate modeling and climate variability, measuring and modeling impacts of human activity on the hydrologic cycle and surface-atmosphere interactions and linking climate processes with land use/land cover change and human systems.
My research activities center on understanding land surface processes and their impacts on atmospheric dynamics. I also have a strong commitment to translating research results to the next generation of students. These two elements are reflected in several aspects of my work over the past several years. As a Peace Corps volunteer I frequently used discovery-learning techniques to help my secondary school students practice the basics of the scientific method. As a scientist I have focused on examining land-atmosphere interactions, beginning with a study of the effects of irrigation on enhancing rainfall in the Texas High Plains. More recently I have studied the effects of land use change on East African climate using innovative interdisciplinary techniques for incorporating/refining socioeconomic data in an atmospheric model (http://clip.msu.edu). A NASA-funded project for Amazon basin research also examines the socioeconomic impacts on land cover and its consequent effects on rainfall, where I am attempting to determine the range of uncertainty in precipitation associated with Amazon deforestation rates. These examples illustrate different aspects of an overall approach to integrated problem-solving. By incorporating land use/land cover change data and remote sensing with regional climate dynamics, and by communicating our methods to a broader audience, we hope to form the groundwork for better interdisciplinary cooperation between the social and natural sciences.
Noga Morag-Levine
Department: College of Law
E-mail: moraglev@law.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.law.msu.edu/faculty_staff/profile.php?prof=372
Noga Morag-Levine is Associate Professor of Law at the MSU College of Law. She studies environmental regulatory politics from a comparative and historical perspective. Her primary research interest is in the effects of legal traditions (civil versus common law) on the formation of distinct regulatory instruments and national environmental policy cultures. Her book, Chasing the Wind: Regulating Air Pollution in the Common Law State (Princeton, 2003), examines the historical and contemporary role of nuisance doctrines in shaping American air pollution policy. She has also published articles on the history of environmental legal advocacy in the United States and Israel.
Cheryl Murphy
Department: Fisheries and Wildlife
E-mail: camurphy@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/people/faculty.htm
The main question that motivates my work is how information translates across different scales. Using fish as a model organism, I strive to synthesize information collected on individuals and use this information to answer questions at a higher level of organization such as, how do changes in the physiological processes occurring within an individual translate to behavioral changes and ecologically relevant endpoints, how do short term phenotypic changes in life history traits alter long term genetic change, and how do anthropogenic influences such as contaminants impact such relationships and affect populations or communities of fish?
Amirpouyan Nejadhashemi
Department: Biosystems; Crop and Soil Sciences
E-mail: pouyan@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/age/pouyan.html
Dr. Nejadhashemi received his doctorate degree from the University of Maryland. He is currently working as an Assistant Professor of Water Resources Engineering at MSU. His research interests are focused on the description, analysis and prevention of non-point source pollution at laboratory, field, watershed and regional scales. Specific interests are in watershed/water quality modeling and analysis, surface water-groundwater interactions, artificial intelligence (AI), geographic information system (GIS), decision support tools, and object-oriented programming.
Before joining MSU, Dr. Nejadhashemi worked at Kansas State University as a core member of an interdepartmental-interagency watershed management team providing technical support and overseeing execution of various modeling tools to track pollutant load reduction activities. This work was designed to lead assessment of watershed restoration and protection strategies (WRAPS) through collaboration with agencies and other watershed stakeholder groups to address TMDLs.
Michael P. Nelson
Department: Lyman Briggs School and Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: mpnelson@msu.edu
Web site: http://lymanbriggs.msu.edu/faculty/bios/user.cfm?UserID=26
Michael P. Nelson holds a joint appointment as an associate professor of environmental ethics and philosophy in the Lyman Briggs College, the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Department of Philosophy. In addition to many essays and articles, he is the co-author or co-editor of four books in and around the area of environmental philosophy: The Great New Wilderness Debate (1998), The Wilderness Debate Rages On: Continuing the Great New Wilderness Debate (2008), and American Indian Environmental Ethics: An Ojibwa Case Study (2004), all with J. Baird Callicott, and For All Time: Our Obligation to the Future, forthcoming with Kathleen Dean Moore. Nelson is also environmental philosopher of the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Project -- the longest continuous study of a predator-prey relationship in the world -- and spends part of each summer working with the animal ecologists on the island. He is currently at work on a book focused on the history and philosophical implications of the project. He is the co-creator and co-director of the Conservation Ethics Group, an environmental ethics and problem solving consultancy group. Nelson's research and teaching focus is environmental ethics and philosophy: from the concept of wilderness to topics in the philosophy of ecology, from hunting ethics to theories of environmental education, from topics in wildlife ecology and conservation biology to questions about science and advocacy. Nelson holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Lancaster University, England.
Sarah Nicholls
Department: Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resources Studies and Geography
E-mail: nicho210@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.carrs.msu.edu/faculty/viewPage.php?netID=nicho210
Sarah Nicholls is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment between the Departments of Community, Agriculture, Recreation & Resource Studies (CARRS) and Geography. Her primary area of interest is in tourism planning, development, and impacts, with a special emphasis on tourism on islands and in small nation states. Current and recent projects vary in location from Michigan to St. Kitts. She also works on a variety of urban park issues, including questions regarding the accessibility and equity of urban park distributions, and the impacts of green spaces on surrounding property prices. She is especially concerned with the implications of climate change for the supply of/demand for natural resources and outdoor recreation/tourism opportunities.
Patricia E. Norris
Department: Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics and Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies
E-mail: norrisp@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.aec.msu.edu/faculty/norris.htm
Mine is an integrated program of research, outreach and teaching focusing largely on issues of natural resource management and environmental policy. Past research and outreach programs have addressed issues in soil conservation, water quality, groundwater management, wetland policy, land markets, land use conflicts and farmland preservation. In my extension work, I have focused largely upon natural resource policy issues, working with private resource owners, local governments, and state and federal agencies as they address the needs for and impacts of institutional change. Two current research emphases are water use and natural resource and environmental accounting.
William J. Northcott
Department: Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering
E-mail: northco2@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/age/northcott.html
William Northcott's interests include watershed hydrology, agricultural drainage, non-point source pollution, and Geographic Information Systems. Current projects include (a) Determining the Impact of Geology; Climate and Management Practices on the Sustainability of Irrigation for Corn Product; (b) Restoring Great Lakes Basin Waters Through the Use of Conservation Credits and a Water Balance Analysis; and (c) Evaluation of an Innovative Filter Mound Technology for Treatment and Disposal of Dairy Milkhouse Wastewater.
Jennifer M. Olson
Department: Telecommunications, Information Studies & the Media
E-mail: olsonjj@msu.edu
Web site: http://tism.msu.edu/modules.php?name=Contacts&op=details&id=276&type=U&department_id=0&position_id=0
Jennifer Olson is interested in the interaction between changes in the environment and society. Understanding the causes of environmental trends and how they affect society leads to important policy implications from the national to the international level, and she regularly works with policy makers, United Nations officials and others to develop effective methods of communicating science results. Research topics that she has focused on include the socioeconomic causes of land degradation, the effects of environmental change on human health, the interaction between land use and climate change, and the impacts of land use change on biodiversity. Jennifer has over fifteen years of living and working experience in Africa. She is the currently the leader of the land use change component and manager of a NSF project, "An Integrated Analysis of Regional Land-Climate Interactions in East Africa", and will play a similar leadership role in a new NSF project, "Dynamic Interactions among People, Livestock, and Savanna Ecosystems under Climate Change." In addition, she leads a team of medical, natural and social scientists in a health-environment initiative, "Impacts of climate and land use change on emerging human and livestock diseases in East Africa."
Nathaniel E. Ostrom
Department: Zoology
E-mail: ostromn@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.zoology.msu.edu/all-faculty/nathaniel-e-ostrom.html
Nathaniel E. Ostrom is a professor in Zoology and co-director of the Biogeochemistry Environmental Research Initiative. His research focuses on the application of stable isotopes and other related techniques to the understanding of the biogeochemical functioning of ecosystems. Recent projects include understanding rates of primary production and respiration in relation to the formation of the "dead-zone" in Lake Erie, applications of isotopomers to resolve the microbial origins of nitrous oxide evolving from soils, quantifying the importance of novel microbial metabolisms in supporting aquatic food webs, the use of stable isotope probing to link contaminant degradation to specific groups of microbes, and the development of instrumentation to meet the needs of long-term ecosystem monitoring networks.
Peggy H. Ostrom
Department: Zoology
E-mail: ostrom@msu.edu
Web site: http://myprofile.cos.com/ostromp
My primary research interests are in the fields of biogeochemistry and organic geochemistry. Recent research has focused on the application of stable isotopes to a wide variety of ecosytem problems including the understanding the influence of marine derived nutrients during salmon migrations on terrestrial ecosystems and in the evaluation of the microbial origins of nitrous oxide in terrestrial landscapes. My research also focuses on evaluating the origin of organic matter in fossil bones that involves the sequencing of amino acid in the bone protien osteocalcinin. This information can be used to understand evolutionary relationships in ancient organisms over a time frame that exceeds DNA preservation.
Donald Penner
Department: Crop & Soil Sciences
E-mail: pennerd@msu.edu
Web site: http://css.msu.edu/People.cfm
Donald Penner is recognized internationally as a leader in the field of weed and herbicide physiology. He is a preeminent researcher and mentor of graduate students in weed science. Penner joined the faculty of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in 1967. He has taught a graduate course on herbicide action and metabolism since 1969 and has chaired the departmental graduate programs committee for three separate terms. He has been active in curriculum development and has served as a major professor for over 30 graduate students. His research activities include weed physiology, herbicide action and fate, herbicide resistance in crops and weeds, and foliar absorption of herbicides. He has published more than 200 papers in scientific journals, co-authored a book, and written numerous book chapters. Penner was presented the Weed Science Society of America Outstanding Research Award in 1987, the Fellow Award in 1993, and the Outstanding Teaching Award in 1997. In 1994, he was awarded the Senior Faculty Meritorious Research Award by the MSU Chapter of Sigma Xi. Penner became a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1996.
Harry Perlstadt
Department: Sociology
E-mail: perlstad@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~perlstad/
Harry Perlstadt, Ph.D. (University of Chicago, sociology), M.P.H. (University of Michigan, health planning & administration), has more than 25 years experience in evaluation of health and community programs. He is currently working on a project to improve screening for high blood lead levels funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and on an evaluation of national environmental health action plans in Europe for World Health Organization (WHO). He has published on the topic of citizen participation in health planning. He is active in the American Public Health Association, currently serving as chair of its Science Board and co-chair of its Joint Policy Committee.
Thomas J. Pinnavaia
Department: Chemistry
E-mail: pinnavai@cem.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.cem.msu.edu/~pinnweb/
The remediation of industrial waste streams and contaminated aquifers often is limited by the performance properties of available materials for adsorbing or converting the contaminant components. Mixtures of contaminants, especially mixtures of organic and inorganic pollutants, are particularly problematic, because different chemistries are generally required to address each component. Our current NIEHS – funded program is intended to design nanostructured oxides with exception reactivity and specificity for use in advanced remediation schemes. We define nanostructures here as materials in which the structural elements occur on a length scale between 1.0 and 50 nm, including the mesoscopic 2.0 to 50 nm length scale. Our aim is to achieve materials with reactivities and specificities that surpass the performance properties of conventional oxides, ion exchange resins and activated carbons. Our studies will lead to improved abiotic approaches to water purification. The targeted contaminants include chlorinated hydrocarbons as well as cationic and anionic forms of metals that are both superfund contaminants and members of the top 20 EPA hazardous substances (e.g., arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium). The basic chemistries we are developing should be applicable to the removal of inorganics from point-of-use drinking water as well as from industrial waste streams.
Helen P. Pollard
Department: Anthropology
E-mail: pollardh@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.anthropology.msu.edu/faculty/pollard.shtml
Helen Perlstein Pollard has carried out archaeologial and ethnohistoric research in western Mexico since 1970. Her research and teaching deals with two broad issues: human ecology and the emergence and evolution of social, political and economic inequality. Within the context of human ecology she focuses on (1) human adaptation to environmental fluctuation and (2) the impact of humans on the environment in the context of the emergence and development of prehistoric states and empires. Her studies of prehistoric states focus on the emergence and evolution of social stratification, political centralization, and the political economies of archaic states and empires. Specifically, her research deals with central and west Mexico, especially Michoacán and the Purepecha\Tarascans, and the development of social theory in archaeology to understand the evolution of inequality by class, ethnicity, and gender.
David Poulson
Department: Journalism
E-mail: poulson@msu.edu
Web site: http://covertheplanet.org
David Poulson is the associate director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at MSU. He teaches environmental, investigative and computer-assisted reporting to graduate and undergraduate students. He also organizes and teaches workshops that help professional reporters better cover the environment. Those efforts include the center’s Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute for journalists working in the region’s states and provinces. He also organizes a separate national boot camp with the Society of Environmental Journalists for reporters new to covering the environment. In August 2008 he led a dozen reporters on a trip to Alaska to study and write about climate change. At MSU he also researches and experiments with alternative media forms including an environmental news aggregator and a citizen journalism effort that won national recognition from the Knight-Batten awards for innovations in journalism.
He came to MSU in 2003 after a 21-year career as a newspaper reporter and editor, mostly covering the environment. He enjoys running, bicycling, teaching, camping, reading, writing, listening to jazz and playing it rather badly on the piano. He and his wife, Kris, have three children.
Wendy Powers
Department: Animal Science, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
E-mail: wpowers@msu.edu
Web site: http://animalagteam.msu.edu/AboutUs/MSUFacultyandStaff/WendyPowers/tabid/157/Default.aspx
Dr. Wendy Powers is a professor and Director of Environmental Stewardship for Animal Agriculture in the Departments of Animal Science and Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at MSU. She joined the faculty at MSU in November 2006 after being on faculty at Iowa State University for just under 10 years.
As director, Dr. Powers coordinates environmental activities related to animal agriculture for the college. Wendy's primary research focus is on diet modification to alter odor and gaseous emissions and manure nutrient excretion working in a multispecies capacity. Extension efforts are currently focused on implementation of management practices to reduce environmental impact and addressing the concerns of rural citizens by improving understanding and communication.
Dennis B. Propst
Department: Forestry
E-mail: propst@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.for.msu.edu/pages/faculty/propst_d.html
Dennis Propst’s research interests include human/natural resource interaction, public participation in park and protected areas policy and management, the economic impacts of recreation and tourism. His expertise is in the human dimensions of natural resource management and planning, outdoor recreation, social science research methodology and statistical analysis. Along with his Ph.D. in forestry, he holds minors in statistics and social psychology. He has 20-plus years of experience in the application of multivariate statistical procedures and social science research designs to park, outdoor recreation and natural resource-related research problems.
Jiaguo Qi
Department: Geography
E-mail: qi@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.globalchange.msu.edu/qi.html
Dr. Jiaguo Qi is Director of the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations, and Professor at MSU's Department of Geography. Dr. Qi also serves as a Project Scientist for NASA's MAIRS (Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Studies) program. His research focuses on two areas: 1) Integrating biophysical and social processes and methods in understanding land use and land cover change and 2) Transforming data into information and knowledge.
Understanding the coupling of nature and human systems is important in global change research. The interactions between biophysical and social processes are intrinsically coupled but largely unknowns. To better understand the responses/feedbacks of the two coupled processes, Dr. Qi's research endeavor focuses on two fronts: 1) development of methodologies to quantify the linkages between them, and 2) development of geospatial tools to allow a quantification of spatio-temporal patterns and processes resulting from complex interactions between human and natural systems. Through research projects funded by different agencies including NASA, NSF, USDA, USAID, etc., he strives to use case studies in different parts of the world to understand the nature of the coupled nature-human systems. The geographic area of his research is global; with projects in North America, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Central Asia, East and West Africa, South America, and Australia. His recent research attempts to integrate environmental and social sciences to investigate the consequences of the socioeconomic reform on land degradation in China and climate change impact on human systems in East Africa.
Gemma Reguera
Department: Microbiology & Molecular Genetics
E-mail: reguera@msu.edu
Web site: http://mmg.msu.edu/124.html
Gemma Reguera was named assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics and crop and soil sciences in August of 2006. Her research focuses on the adaptive responses of microbes to their natural environment, and she uses this information to find new biotechnology applications for microbial processes. Her lab is currently studying how the bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens colonizes surfaces and lives as biofilms and how to genetically engineer Geobacter biofilms for applications in bioremediation of radioactive and toxic metal contaminants, nanotechnology and bioenergy.
From 2002 to 2006, Reguera was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and from 2001 to 2002, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard Medical School. Before that, she held research associate and assistant positions at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of Oviedo in Spain. Reguera received a doctorate and a master's degree in microbiology from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 2001 and 1994, respectively, and a doctorate and a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Oviedo, in 2001 and 1992, respectively.
Dawn Marie Reinhold
Department: Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering
E-mail: reinho17@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~reinho17
Dawn Reinhold is an assistant professor in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering. Her research focuses on understanding pollutant removal and fate in plant-based ecosystems, including nutrients and trace organic pollutants such as personal care products, pharmaceuticals and pesticides. Her research will utilize controlled laboratory-scale reactors to quantify and enhance the removal processes, as well as field applications to address water quality at MSU and the surrounding communities. Reinhold's research also will examine the long-term fate of organic pollutants taken up by plants and the implications to ecosystem and human health, as well as using tissue culture to develop plants with enhanced capabilities to treat environmental contamination. Active research projects include migration of antimicrobials from biosolids in vegetated systems, oxidation-reduction potential in wetlands, and utilizing wetlands in conjunction with bioenergy. Dawn received her doctorate in Environmental Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2007 and her bachelor's degree in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from Kansas State University in 2002.
Robert B. Richardson
Department: Community, Agriculture, Recreation & Resource Studies
E-mail: rbr@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.carrs.msu.edu/faculty/viewPage.php?netID=rbr
Robby Richardson is an environmental economist whose teaching, research, and outreach program focuses broadly on natural resource-based tourism and sustainable development. His research interests include the economic impact of climate change, the economic benefits of wilderness protection, and the relationship between tourism and poverty in developing countries. He has studied the effects of climate change on national parks and gateway communities as part of an interdisciplinary project. He has studied the vulnerability of economic sectors to climate change in Belize, with emphasis on tourism and fisheries. Dr. Richardson has completed several studies of the economic benefits of wilderness areas in the western USA, including the values of recreational uses and ecosystem services. He is presently involved in a project that examines the role of sustainable tourism development in poverty reduction strategies.
Jeffrey M. Riedinger
Department: International Studies & Programs
E-mail: riedinge@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.isp.msu.edu/faculty/bios.htm
As a comparative political scientist, Jeffrey Riedinger has a developing area focus, with special emphasis on Southeast and East Asia. His work applies theories of political economy and state-society relations to problems of economic development. Riedinger is particularly interested in the way that political liberalization and democratization reforms affect the distribution of economic assets such as land, and in the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the formulation and implementation of development policies. He seeks to draw attention to the importance of political institutions and political processes in determining who benefits and who is harmed during the development of poor countries. Thematically Riedinger’s work focuses on the political economy of redistributive agrarian reform, the role of NGOs in shaping and implementing agricultural and environmental policy, sustainable agriculture and natural resource management, and the legal rights of indigenous populations. His research is intended not merely to document these issues, but to guide policymaking through applied policy analysis. Riedinger’s research is informed by a significant program of empirical fieldwork: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador, Germany, Ghana, Greece, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Nepal, Nicaragua, Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan.
Shawn J. Riley
Department: Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: rileysh2@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~rileysh2
Professional research and teaching interests include wildlife ecology, human dimensions of wildlife management, and integration of ecological and human dimensions of management. Specific interests are human-resource interactions, systems modeling, and integration of ecological and social insights in decision-making. Current research projects include development of decision support models for disease management in US National Parks; improving conservation of reptiles through insights about how people form attitudes and beliefs about snakes; determining factors affecting acceptance capacity of stakeholders for white-tailed deer in the developed agro-forested landscapes of southern Michigan; understanding of how to modify driver behavior to reduce deer-vehicle collisions; improving use of human dimensions information in Great Lakes fishery management; planning for wolf recovery and management in Michigan; and evaluating ways to increase decision-making capacity of natural resource agencies. Current course offerings include Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife (FW434), and Leadership in Natural Resource and Environmental Management (FW885).
Louie Rivers
Department: Criminal Justice, Environmental Science and Policy Program
E-mail: riversl@msu.edu
Web site: http://criminaljustice.msu.edu/people/Detail.asp?page=2&ContactID=350&RecPos=50
Louie Rivers studies diverse aspects of risk. He comes to MSU from two years of working on program management at the National Science Foundation. His graduate education was at Ohio State, where he earned a master's degree in natural resources with a focus on environmental education, and a doctorate in risk perception and decision making, especially among minorities and in an environmental context. In the spring, Rivers will join Dr. Carole Gibbs and Dr. Meredith Gore in teaching three online courses that constitute a master's certificate in conservation criminology: environmental risk perception and decision making; international environmental risk; and corporate environmental risk. He will also continue research on the perception by black farmers in the South of risks associated with microbial contaminants in food.
G. Philip Robertson
Department: Crop & Soil Sciences
E-mail: robertson@kbs.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.kbs.msu.edu/Faculty/Robertson
Research in my lab falls under the general heading of terrestrial biogeochemistry, with a particular emphasis on processes that regulate nutrient availability in agricultural and other disturbed ecosystems. Currently my group's research centers on:
- Biogenic trace gas emissions from terrestrial ecosystems as a function of land use and management
- The spatial heterogeneity of nutrient availability in native and managed landscapes
- Process-level controls on nitrogen availability in terrestrial communities.
Joan B. Rose
Department: Fisheries & Wildlife, Crop & Soil Sciences and Micro/Molecular Genetics
E-mail: rosejo@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~rosejo/JoanRose.htm
My research interests are in microbiological water quality and public health safety. Waterborne disease and regulatory issues involved in the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act. My work examines new molecular methods for waterborne pathogens and zoonotic agents such as Cryptosporidium and enteric viruses and source tracking techniques. I have been involved in the study of water supplies, water used for food production, and coastal environments, beach surveys and recreational risk. I have been involved in water treatment. I have been focused on quantitative microbial risk assessment.
Robert A. Roth
Department: Pharmacology & Toxicology
E-mail: rothr@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.phmtox.msu.edu/people/faculty/rothprint.htm
Researchers in my laboratory are interested in inflammation as a determinant of susceptibility to the toxic effects of drugs and other chemical agents. All of us experience episodes of inflammation. We are interested in how modest inflammation can make individuals particularly sensitive to toxic chemicals. In rats, we create modest inflammation by administering a small dose of endotoxin (a bacterial product) that by itself is noninjurious. The modest inflammation that results markedly enhances liver injury caused by drugs and toxic chemicals. For example, aflatoxin B1 is a toxic metabolite produced by a fungus that contaminates nuts and grains. We are exposed to small amounts of it when we eat products made from peanuts or corn, and it is of concern because it can cause liver damage and hepatic cancer in people and animals. We have found that a small dose of endotoxin that is without effect by itself markedly enhances the hepatotoxic effects of aflatoxin B1, as well as other toxic agents that occur in our food or environment. Thus, endotoxin exposure or underlying inflammation from other causes may be an important determinant of sensitivity of people and animals to toxic chemicals.
These findings have led us to a potentially important hypothesis that concurrent inflammation and its interaction with drugs may underlie some of the rare, idiosyncratic reactions people experience when they take certain drugs. In the laboratory, we are working to characterize this inflammation-induced augmentation of toxicity and to explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie it, with particular emphasis on the role of inflammatory factors such as neutrophils, cytokines and the hemostatic system.
Brian M. Roth
Department: Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: rothbri@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/people/faculty.htm
My research interests are in interactions between native and non-native species that can lead to alternative configurations of aquatic biota and in spatially-explicit modeling methodologies. I also plan to investigate how fish movements differ on both small and large spatial and temporal scales and how to integrate this information in spatially-explicit models that can be used to inform management strategies that depend on assumptions of movement, or lack thereof.
David Rothstein
Department: Forestry
E-mail: rothste2@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.for.msu.edu/pages/faculty/rothstein_d.html
The goal of my research program is to develop a mechanistic understanding of processes driving the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients in both natural and managed forests. In particular, I am interested in studying feedbacks within the plant-soil system that control both the availability of nutrients in soil, and losses of nutrients from ecosystems. This work involves research at a wide range of scales: from the quantification of ecosystem-level fluxes of carbon and nutrients to the study of plant and microbial metabolism.
Brad Rowe
Department: Horticulture
E-mail: rowed@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.hrt.msu.edu/brad-rowe/pg2
Brad Rowe directs the green roof research program at MSU. The program was initiated during 2000 in collaboration with Ford Motor Company to advise them on the design and installation of their 10.4 acre green roof in Dearborn, to further our knowledge regarding green roof applications, and to address the issues of environmental stewardship. The research team is evaluating potential plant species and is studying the effects that green roofs have on stormwater runoff, water quality, and energy consumption. Experiments are being conducted on the roofs of the Plant and Soil Sciences and Communication Arts Buildings, in the Plant Science Greenhouses, and on 48 roof platforms at the Horticulture Teaching and Research Center. The research team is composed of collaborators from various departments across campus including Plant Biology, Geography, Biosystems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Building Construction Management.
Wilson K. Rumbeiha
Department: Pathobiology & Diagnostic Investigation
E-mail: rumbeiha@msu.edu
Web site: http://pathobiology.msu.edu/people/rumbeiha.html
Understanding mechanisms of environmental toxicants in wildlife at animal and ecosystem level and utilization of this knowledge in treatment modalities of intoxications and conservation. Understanding mechanisms of toxicity using modern techniques such as functional genomics and utilization of this knowledge in developing diagnostic tests and treatment modalities of intoxications in animals.
Steven I. Safferman
Department: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
E-mail: safferma@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/~safferma/
My holistic research approach is to consider “waste” as a resource to be returned to beneficial function within the watershed. Included are nutrients, compost, bioenergy, and water. Such an approach needs to be comprehensive. It involves science, engineering, economics, and policy. Partnerships between Universities, stakeholders, and government agencies are critical. General research topics that I am exploring center around innovative animal waste management strategies for large and small producers, biological, chemical and physical treatment technologies for nitrogen and phosphorus control, passive nutrient, low-tech treatment systems for storm drains, the use of compost originating from agricultural waste in storm water best management practices, innovative physical and chemical processes for on-site wastewater treatment technologies, and industrial assessments to minimize water use and wastewater production.
Gene R. Safir
Department: Plant Pathology
E-mail: safir@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.plantpathology.msu.edu/SafirGene/tabid/104/Default.aspx
Gene Safir’s areas of research interest are agricultural ecosystem dynamics, plant disease impacts on large scales, and regional assessment of agricultural productivity. He currently teaches two courses, Environmental and Organismal Biology, and he Co-teaches Current Issues and Frontiers in Plant Pathology. For many years, he taught Environmental Plant Physiology and Introductory Plant Biology while he was a member of the Botany and Plant Pathology Faculty at Michigan State University. Safir worked for several years on the remote detection of crops and crop stresses and now he concentrates on the expansion of crop models from the field to regional scales. He is also interested in the effects of crop phenology and temporal dynamics on diseases, stresses, and greenhouse gases. As a result of these interests he collaborates on several projects involving the above subjects. Safir has received several awards for his research including the Ceiba-Giegi Award from APS (1984), and a Patent Recognition Award from Michigan State University (1994).
Kelly K. Salchow
Department: Art & Art History
E-mail: salchow@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.art.msu.edu/?page_id=84
When design education is potent, its essential lessons become a part of the way each participant lives and thinks. This process of learning can inspire a student's enthusiasm, comprehension, visual and verbal eloquence, confidence, sense of ethics and his/her personal voice. Completion of undergraduate studies should empower a student with the intellectual and professional tools for contributing to society, and towards creative self-satisfaction.
A piece of graphic design creates an encounter with the viewer. The path of experimentation the designer embarks on, necessary to awaken the senses of the audience, is truly invigorating. Content, communication and experience are enriched when unique opportunities are embraced. These opportunities include the particular limitations and objectives of a given assignment, the unexpected discoveries that surface during the design process, and the circumstances (such as people and places) which are part of the creative process. In addition, the designer's consideration of tangible and spatial form heightens the viewer's experience through the unexpected.
The processes of both design education, and design practice are fascinating, fluid and perpetual.
Orlando Sarnelle
Department: Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: sarnelle@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~sarnelle/
My research interests encompass both basic and applied aspects of aquatic ecology/biological limnology and include these specific environmental topics (in no particular order): conservation biology (recovery from local extinction), water quality (the role of lake biota), and exotic-species impacts. Recent projects examine: recovery rates of locally extinct invertebrates after exotic fish eradication in alpine lakes, factors driving the abundance of harmful planktonic cyanobacteria, and the effects of zebra mussels on lake ecosystems.
Randall Schaetzl
Department: Geography
E-mail: soils@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/schaetzl/index2.html
I study soils, landforms and biota in the context of environmental change. The time periods within which I work range from about 15,000 BP to the present. Most of my research is Great Lakes-based.
Douglas W. Schemske
Department: Plant Biology
E-mail: schem@msu.edu
Web site: http://plantbiology.msu.edu/faculty/faculty-research/doug-schemske/
My principle research objective is to understand the processes contributing to the origin of organismal diversity. Specific research projects include: the ecological genetics of adaptation and speciation in native plant populations, co-evolution in plant-animal mutualisms, latitudinal gradients in species diversity, and the control of exotic species. These topics are investigated through experimental studies in field and laboratory using molecular genetic and ecological approaches.
Laura Schmitt Olabisi
Department: Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies; Environmental Science and Policy Program
E-mail: schmi420@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.carrs.msu.edu/faculty/viewPage.php?netID=schmi420
I am a quantitative modeler exploring the dependence of human economies and societies on material and energy flows provided by natural systems. I work with system dynamics, geographic and statistical models to ask questions about some of the most important threats to the sustainability of complex human and natural systems. My past and present research has addressed soil erosion, population growth, greenhouse gas emissions, water sustainability, and land use change, for example. I'm also interested in using participatory techniques to integrate knowledge streams from natural scientists, social scientists, policymakers, and local experts. Combining the learning generated through these participatory processes with the insights quantitative modeling can provide-all in the service of promoting sustainable development and adaptive capacity-will be a key focus of my future research.
Gerhardus Schultink
Department: Community, Agriculture, Recreation & Resource Studies
E-mail: schultin@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.carrs.msu.edu/faculty/viewPage.php?netID=schultin
Professor Schultink conducts research and teaches International Resource Development, Comparative Environmental Policy, Land Use Planning and Environmental Impact Assessment at the Department of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies. He serves as the Associate Director of the Land Policy Institute with responsibilities for international land use planning, policy and development studies. His extensive publication record reflects more than 25 years experience in natural resource surveys, sector and impact assessment, land use planning, rural economic development and policy analysis. He has provided international and domestic consultancies for private sector firms, government agencies, such as USAID, the USDA, as well as international organizations, such as FAO, UNDP and the World Bank, and numerous country governments.
From 1980 to 1991, he directed the Comprehensive Resource Inventory and Evaluation System (CRIES) project at Michigan State University, representing an trans-disciplinary systems approach to resource evaluation, development planning and policy analysis. More recently, he worked with the Fulbright Foundation to establish an Environmental Protection Center in Thailand, with the Japanese Science Foundation and various Japanese universities on regional and agricultural planning issues, and with European universities on academic program reviews in the environmental and life sciences.
Mark J. Scriber
Department: Entomology
E-mail: scriber@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.ent.msu.edu/FacultyPages/scriber/tabid/147/Default.aspx
The geographical (spatial) variation in adaptive traits of hybridizing species of insects has been the central focus of recent research in the evolutionary genetics of herbivores. Biotic and abiotic factors affecting the distribution, ecology, and societal impacts of herbivorous insects have recently undergone dramatic changes since the regional climate warming across the Great Lakes and New England. These concerns also deal with risk perception from transgenic plants (and nontarget issues with gypsy moths and forests as well as transgenic corn and butterflies). The importance of hybrid zones and long-range migratory behavior for global biodiversity is also under investigation at the community ecology/ecosystem level.
Susan E.M. Selke
Department: Packaging
E-mail: sselke@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.packaging.msu.edu/?page=Faculty
Broad research interests within the general area of packaging and the environment. Research activities include plastics recycling, biodegradable plastics, plastic/natural fiber composites, and lifecycle assessment. Specific examples include understanding the role of uncertainty in lifecycle analysis, use of microcellular foaming to improve the performance of HDPE/PP blends and composites of those blends with wood fibers; modeling the migration of contaminants in recycled plastic through a functional barrier of virgin plastic and into a food or beverage product; performance of bio-based and petrochemical-based biodegradable plastics; microcellular foaming of a biodegradable polyester; and incorporation of zeolites into a biodegradable plastic to provide active packaging functionality.
Thomas D. Sharkey
Department: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
E-mail: tsharkey@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.bch.msu.edu/faculty/sharkey.htm
My lab studies the interactions between the biosphere and atmosphere with emphasis on the biochemical and biophysical processes that control gas exchange. We have several projects on photosynthetic responses to carbon dioxide, emphasizing elevated carbon dioxide because this will continue to increase in the atmosphere. A second major area of research is the emission of isoprene from many trees, especially oaks and poplars. This hydrocarbon helps trees tolerate high leaf temperature caused by sunlight but when NOx pollution is present, isoprene from trees can lead to ozone formation. Our work is focused on the biochemical and molecular regulation of the rate of isoprene emission, as well as the evolution of this trait.
Duncan F. Sibley
Department: Geological Sciences
E-mail: sibley@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~sibley/
Human cognition in science and geology education: current projects are expert and novice reasoning by analogy, and reasoning about systems.
Also work on how aquifer and hydrocarbon reservoir properties evolve and change due to the movement of fluids through rocks and sediments. This work includes laboratory synthesis of minerals as well as textural analysis of minerals in aquifers and reservoirs to help develop models of the evolution of porosity and permeability. This work allows for better characterization of regional variations in aquifer and reservoir properties.
S. Cynthia Simmons
Department: Geography
E-mail: simmo108@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/simmons.html
Studying the interaction of economic development and environmental policy, with special attention given to social and environmental externalities, and the potential for sustainable development. The research is derived from a political economy perspective that considers the interaction of relationships across a multiplicity of scales, from local to global, and subsequent implications for local environments and social conditions. The research combines both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, utilizing data and insight gained from field investigation involving household surveys and key informant interviews focusing on Latin America, more specifically Brazil.
David L. Skole
Department: Forestry
E-mail: skole@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.for.msu.edu/pages/faculty/skole_d.html
David L. Skole is Professor of Forestry at Michigan State University. He has more than 25 years experience with research on the global carbon cycle and climate change. He was instrumental in constructing the first numerical global carbon model, and has been spearheading the integration of satellite based remote sensing into carbon accounting models. He was formally recognized for his climate change research as an official member of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He is now active in the emerging carbon financial markets and applications of his research to carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation projects in developing countries.
He has been active in developing methods for carbon offsets under cap and trade carbon regulations. He is a member of the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), and serves as a member of its Offsets and Forestry Committees. He is also Chair of a Technical Advisory Committee of the CCX on small holder agriculture procedures. Dr. Skole is past chair of the National Science Foundation Advisory Committee on Environmental Research and Education. He is a member of several committees of the National Academies including Geographic Sciences Committee and the Committee on Geographical Foundations of Agenda 21 that lead to US State Department recommendations at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. He served as a member of the Committee to Review the US Climate Change Science Program and several other Academies committees related to environment and climate.
Thomas M. Smith
Department: Institute of Agricultural Technology
E-mail: smitht48@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.canr.msu.edu/agtech/welcome.html
Thomas M. Smith is a specialist with the Institute of Agricultural Technology (IAT). His major responsibilities are developing and enhancing Community College Partnerships to collaboratively offer IAT Certificate programs at the local level. Part of this effort includes developing new program areas to meet the specific social, economic and educational needs of the local community. Tom is interested in developing collaborations with other MSU faculty to help develop new credit and non-credit training and educational programs that meet the broad mission of IAT and address specific community needs, both in Michigan and beyond. He is also interested in a diverse range of applied research activities that further these interests.
He brings business experience to his position at MSU, having owned and operated businesses in the green industry and technology transfer for over 25 years. Tom holds a BS and MS in Crop & Soil Science - Turfgrass Management from MSU.
Alvin J.M. Smucker
Department: Crop & Soil Sciences
E-mail: smucker@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~smucker
- Identification of carbon sequestration mechanisms within soil aggregates. Modifications of the organic-mineral interface during ever-changing intra-aggregate pore structures.
- Using natural isotopes of C and N to identify soil C sequestration capacities. Separation of soluble C from bacterial communities, within macroaggregates.
- Micro flow cell for measuring soil aggregate processes: Saturated hydraulic conductivity, advective ion flux, pH, redox, carbohydrate and nitrate leaching, oxygen consumption and clay particle losses.
- Concentric soil layer removal from individual aggregates, sampled from multiple ecosystems, by the soil aggregate erosion (SAE) chamber method. This method assists with the quantification of multiple biophysical and biogeochemical processes within soil aggregates.
- Synchrotron computer microtomography (CMT) imaging of soil aggregates at the APS with Dr. Mark Rivers at the GSECARS Sector 13-BM-D. This approach offers excellent quantification of the pore formation mechanisms, their structural configurations, multiple diameters and connectivities within individual soil aggregates.
- Plant root C sources and contributions to soil aggregation processes.
- Image processing of plant root structures and intra-aggregate porosities.
Patricia A. Soranno
Department: Fisheries and Wildlife
E-mail: soranno@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~soranno/
As a landscape limnologist, the focus of my research is to gain a better understanding of lakes and their place in the landscape. Lakes can be studied at three important spatial scales: within-lake, lake catchment, and the landscape, and my research includes all three. My main lines of research are: (1) The effects of land use on lake nutrients and biological communities; (2) Development of a landscape-context paradigm for lake ecosystems; and (3) The application of a landscape-context paradigm to lake assessment and management.
Ajit K. Srivastava
Department: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
E-mail: srivasta@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/age/srivastava.html
Research Interests:
- Machinery Systems for Food Production and Processing
- Dimensional Analysis and Similitude
- Biobased Renewable Energy Systems
A project is underway to convert turkey litter to energy via direct combustion. Studies are underway to redesign the burner, pelletizing turkey litter, study gas emissions, and heating a greenhouse.
Daniel P. Steel
Department: Philosophy
E-mail: steel@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~steel
My specialization is in the philosophy of science with a particular emphasis on problems of evidence and causal inference as they arise in biology and social science. One major area of my research focuses on problems relating to extrapolating causal conclusions from one context—such as an animal model or a pilot study—to another, an issue addressed in my (2007) book, Across the Boundaries: Extrapolation in Biology and Social Science. In collaboration with Dr. Karen Chou (also an ESPP faculty member), I am currently further developing this work in relation to a new case: the assessment of toxicity and environmental impact of engineered nanomaterials. This is an exciting and quickly emerging field that poses new challenges that call for new methods for extrapolating and integrating studies performed in a wide variety of contexts and experimental models. I hope that such methods will prove useful for other topics related to environmental science and public policy as well.
Robert Jan Stevenson
Department: Zoology
E-mail: rjstev@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~rjstev/
I employ my technical expertise in algal taxonomy and ecology to test ecological theory and to develop approaches for solving environmental problems. I am particularly interested in how ecological systems respond to environmental change. I also work with federal and state officials to develop protocols for ecological assessment. Working with resource managers and policy makers often stimulates new directions for my research. Most of my projects use field observations, experiments, and modeling to better understand the effects of natural and human factors on algae and the role of algae in aquatic ecosystems. Field studies are used to identify interesting patterns in nature that may indicate an environmental problem or an interesting natural phenomenon. Manipulative experiments in artificial streams and mesocosms are used to confirm cause-effect relationships. I use models to scale our observations up to better understand cause-effect relations among natural and anthropogenic factors and ecological conditions.
Jon Sticklen
Department: Computer Science and Engineering
E-mail: sticklen@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/~sticklen/
Knowledge-Based Systems, Pedagogy of Science, Mathematics and Engineering (STEM) Areas.
John Stone
Department: Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards
E-mail: jvstone@msu.edu
Web site: http://ifas.msu.edu/people/profile/stone-john/
John V. Stone is Associate Director and Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards (IFAS) at MSU. He holds a Ph.D. and an MA in Applied Anthropology, both from the University of South Florida, and a BA in Anthropology from Michigan State. John assists with numerous activities at IFAS, including grant writing, research, and management, and graduate course development and teaching. His primary research interests are in the participatory dimensions of environmental management and agrifood standards development and implementation, and particularly ethnographic methodological applications to promote more equitable social access in those processes. John has managed numerous social research projects, authored more than 20 scientific publications and technical reports, and made more than 35 presentations to professional societies and associations. He co-founded the Risk Assessment and Policy Association and holds membership in the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA), the American Anthropoligical Association, and the International Associations for Public Participation and Impact Assessment, respectively. John received the EPA/SfAA Environmental Anthropology Fellowship in 1999, and served as the inaugural Fellow to the Great Lakes Commission Fellowship Program.
Scott M. Swinton
Department: Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
E-mail: swintons@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~swintons/
His economic research focuses on agriculture as a managed ecosystem, focusing on management and policy analysis for enhanced ecosystem services. He concentrates on problems involving crop pest and nutrient management, precision agriculture, resource conservation, and management of risks to human health and income. Besides his work on U.S. farming, he is engaged in research on agricultural and natural resource management in Latin America and Africa.
Matt Syal
Department: Construction Management Program, School of Planning, Design, and Construction
E-mail: syalm@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/~syalm
Research interests: Estimating, Scheduling and Project Controls, Construction Management Information Systems, Housing, Sustainable Planning, Design and Construction, International Project Management.
Volodymyr V. Tarabara
Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering
E-mail: tarabara@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/cee/people/tarabara.html
Dr. Tarabara's research focuses on fundamental aspects of membrane-based separation processes applied to water treatment and quality control. Behavior and use of nanoparticles in membrane separation systems is of especial interest.
Current externally funded research projects include:
- USA-Ukraine-France-Russia partnership. New generation synthetic membranes - nanotechnology for drinking water safety (NSF).
- Nanoscale design of aqueous carbon nanotube-reinforced molecular transducers for biosensors (NSF).
- Self-cleaning ceramic membranes for the removal of natural and synthetic nanomaterials from drinking water using hybrid ozonation-nanofiltration (NSF).
- Coupled effects of scaling and colloid deposition on the performance of reverse osmosis membrane filters (NWRI).
Dr. Tarabara also serves as the lead for MSU Study Abroad program "Environmental science, engineering, and public policy in the economic and cultural context of Eastern Europe" in Kiev, Ukraine.
William W. Taylor
Department: Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: taylorw@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/~taylorw/research.htm
Great Lakes fisheries ecology, population dynamics and management. U.S.-Canada fishery resource policy and management. Integration of environmental policy and management from a local to global perspective.
Brian J. Teppen
Department: Crop & Soil Sciences
E-mail: teppen@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~teppen/
In building an understanding of molecular behavior within environmental systems, emerging technologies in condensed-phase molecular modeling are proving useful for a) constraining the interpretations of spectroscopic and diffraction data, b) stimulating new hypotheses and new approaches to experimentation, and c) performing truly predictive simulations of properties not amenable to experiment. Molecular modeling tools have traditionally been tailored toward proteins and other biochemical organic systems, but I have worked toward expanding their application to environmentally relevant systems such as soil minerals and aqueous species at colloid-solution interfaces. My research has focused on the development, validation, and application of both classical- and quantum-physics molecular models for aqueous solutions, chemical contaminants, and the colloidal materials that control adsorption and chemical speciation in soils, sediments, and groundwaters. I have been the focal point of a diverse team (physical chemists, soil chemists, geophysicists, and environmental engineers) that develops and validates such models, then applies them to simulations of practical systems. A strength of our developmental work is frequent validation of our models using diverse spectroscopic, diffraction, and thermodynamic data. My goals are to develop robust models for the most important environmental colloids and to use the models to accurately predict a greater variety of kinetic and thermodynamic information.
Paul B. Thompson
Department: Philosophy; Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies; Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economic
E-mail: thomp649@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.aec.msu.edu/faculty/thompson.htm
Paul B. Thompson's research and teaching issues cover the full range of environmental philosophy but are especially focused on three themes:
- The assessment, management and communication of environmental risks
- Ethical issues associated with genetic engineering of microbes, plants and non-human animals
- The philosophy of agriculture, including sustainability and agrarianism
He also works on broad issues in the philosophy of technology, and has recently undertaken a program of research on "technological commodification," which has grown out of his work on the ethics of genetic transformation.
Laurie G. Thorp
Department: Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment (RISE) Program
E-mail: thorpl@msu.edu
Web site: http://naturalscience.msu.edu/students/rise/
Laurie Thorp directs the Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment (RISE) program. RISE is an undergraduate academic specialization serving the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Communication Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Natural Science and Social Sciences. She is interested in alternative business models for the food system and is co-advisor for the MSU Student Organic Farm which operates a 50 member CSA. She is also working on green living environments on campus. She describes students in RISE as interested in multiple dimensions of business interactions with society, from consumerism and mass media to sustainable business practices.
James M. Tiedje
Department: Crop & Soil Sciences, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
E-mail: tiedjej@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.cme.msu.edu/tiedjelab/jtiedje.shtml
Dr. Tiedje is Director of the Center for Microbial Ecology. His research focuses on microbial ecology, physiology and diversity, especially regarding the nitrogen cycle, biodegradation of environmental pollutants and use of molecular methods to understand microbial community structure and function. His group has discovered several microbes that live by halorespiration on chlorinated solvents and is using genomics to better understand ecological functions, endemism, niche adaptation and speciation. He has served as Editor-in-Chief of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, President of the American Society of Microbiology and the International Society of Microbial Ecology, and is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. He has over 400 refereed papers including seven in Science and Nature.
James E. Trosko
Department: Pediatrics & Human Development
E-mail: james.trosko@ht.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.iet.msu.edu/Faculty/Trosko.html
The Trosko lab focuses on the mechanisms of carcinogenesis and mutagenesis. His initial research involved the study of radiation-induced mammalian mutagenesis. This led to the discovery of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair in normal human cells and the lack of DNA repair and increased mutagenesis in the cancer-prone xeroderma pigmentosum syndrome. Later work with the tumor promoter, phorbolester, he discovered that the inhibition by tumor-promoting chemicals, oncogenes and growth factors were related to the mechanism of tumor promotion by their shared ability to modulate gap junction function. His team then developed several in vitro assays to detect chemical modulators of gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) (e.g., metabolic cooperation assays; fluorescent recovery after photobleaching; scrape loading dye transfer, etc.) Later they found that modulation of GJIC was related to chemical induced teratogenesis, reproductive dysfunction and neurotoxicity. Most recently, his group has demonstrated that normal human epithelial stem cells could be isolated from kidney tissues and breast tissues. In addition, anti-tumor chemicals, as well as tumor suppressor genes appear to up-regulate GJIC in a manner opposite to tumor promoters and oncogenes. He has recently discovered biomarkers for adult human stem cells that has provided strong evidence for the "stem cell theory" of cancer.
E. Michael Unsworth
Department: Collections Management
E-mail: unsworth@mail.lib.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.lib.msu.edu/unsworth/
My primary research is the import of solid waste from the Canadian Province of Ontario into Michigan.
Brad L. Upham
Department: Pediatrics & Human Development
E-mail: upham@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.iet.msu.edu/Faculty/Upham.html
My research projects involve determining the cellular mechanisms by which nutrition, oxidative stress, and environmental and food-borne contaminants affect cell proliferative, differentiation and apoptotic processes that ultimately cumulates into states of human diseases such as cancer. Studies on cellular mechanisms focus primarily on how intracellular signal transduction pathways and gap junctional intercellular communication collaboratively orchestrate the epigenetic expression of genes in stem cell model systems. Bioassays of gap junctional intercellular communication are also used to estimate the risk of epigenetic toxicity of environmental toxicants in the design of engineered environmental remediation systems.
Remke L. Van Dam
Department: Geological Sciences
E-mail: rvd@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~rvd/
My research interests are in the application and improvement of near-surface geophysical methods for hydrological and engineering problems, sedimentology and stratigraphy, issues of environmental change, and characterization of soils.
Thomas A. Vogel
Department: Geological Sciences
E-mail: vogel@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~vogel
Volcanic hazards and related topics are important aspects of environment science and policy in countries with volcanoes, and we have an active group here at MSU working on this problem. One of my interests in the past few years (in Central America and the Philippines) is to promote the development and application of measures to minimize loss of life and property caused by volcanic eruptions, landslides, mudflows, lahars, etc. What types of volcanic hazards do local residents face and where can they go to avoid dangers? These questions are difficult to answer because there are many types of volcanic eruptions, which produce different types of volcanic hazards. Most of our work has been with the most dangerous of all volcanic eruptions - ash flows. We are working on these types of eruptions in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the Philippines, and we are currently involved in drilling an active volcano at Unzen Japan to evaluate how these eruptions occur. Our current research in the Philippines involves documenting past ash-flow eruptions in the metropolitan Manila area. We are currently working with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology; and the National Institute of Geological Sciences on this problem. Some of our colleagues are involved in remote sensing, especially of volcanic hazards due to volcanic ash, gas and aerosol clouds. The remote sensing methods can be used for science and hazard mitigation.
Thomas C. Voice
Department: Civil & Environmental Engineering
E-mail: voice@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/cee/people/voice.html
Thomas C. Voice is an environmental engineer specializing in environmental chemistry and physical-chemical processes in environmental systems. His research interests focus primarily on mass-transfer phenomena, which he has investigated in the context of pollutant behavior in water, soils and sediments, water and waste treatment systems, new sampling and analysis methods, and contaminant remediation techniques. Much of his recent work has been in multidisciplinary projects involving the interfaces between environmental chemistry, biology and physics, and the implications of this work to questions of health and risk assessment, engineering practice, public policy, and community response to environmental problems.
Igor Vojnovic
Department: Geography
E-mail: vojnovic@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/vojnovic.html
Research interests are in the areas of environmental and social justice, with a particular focus on how theories of equity apply to urban form and natural environments. The approach to the research on urban form involves social, environmental, and economic assessments of the interrelationship between the built environment and human activity patterns. The analysis is multidisciplinary, and ranges from how economic incentives distort urban and natural environments to design criteria in city building.
Robert D. von Bernuth
Department: Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering
E-mail: vonbern@msu.edu
My interests in research are principally in the area of environment and land use. For example, I have done a lot of work on odor and other issues associated with livestock facilities. I’m very interested in issues of land use and planning as it affects human health.
Robert T. Walker
Department: Geography
E-mail: rwalker@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/walker/index2b.html
I am an economic geographer who provides theoretical descriptions of land-use and land-cover change processes wherever they occur. My special interest is in accounting for the spatial articulation of such changes, what an ecologist might refer to as landscape evolution. The main objective of my research is to develop theoretical frameworks, not to conduct regional case studies. Economic geography (including regional science) possesses models and paradigms of great potential utility in studies of land-use and land-cover change, but to date they have been little utilized. I see my work as establishing a link between a set of traditional models and an issue of growing global concern. Because economic geography doesn’t always possess the “right” model for the issue at hand, I borrow from economics, anthropology, and sociology to frame some of my work, given its focus on behavior at the level of individual land managers.
Joanne M. Westphal
Department: Landscape Architecture, School of Planning, Design, and Construction
E-mail: westphal@msu.edu
Web site: http://spdc.msu.edu/Home/Faculty/Westphal/tabid/202/Default.aspx
Dr. Westphal is a landscape architect and practicing licensed physician. She is a Fellow in both the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture. As a faculty member in SPDC, she focuses on issues of health in the built environment, therapeutic site design, context-sensitive design, and research methodology. Her work includes the evaluation of construction standards to promote human wellness; the efficacy of design to complement medical treatment protocols in hospitals and nursing homes; the examination of communities to promote active living throughout the seasons; and the need for place identification, resource sustainability and open space/green corridor protection in the American landscape.
Research interests encompass two broad areas of the environment: 1) factors that affect human health in the built environment, and 2) issues affecting regional landscape identity, sustainability, and resource protection. Current work focuses on assessment strategies to document the health benefits of gardens and open space to patient and non-patient groups as a part of "evidence-based design", including the use of virtual reality, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), "intended outcomes measures", and post-occupancy evaluation. In terms of land use, current work evaluates standards & criteria for site sustainability; performance standards for steep green roof systems (i.e., micro-climate effects, stormwater management, thermal conductivity, and urban wildlife/habitat potential); and seasonal factors affecting walking & biking in cold climate communities.
David S. Wiley
Department: Sociology
E-mail: wiley@msu.edu
Web site: http://sociology.msu.edu/dwiley.html
Julie A. Winkler
Department: Geography
E-mail: winkler@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/user/winkler
My primary research interests are:
- Synoptic climatology
- Regional climate variability and change
Synoptic climatology is concerned with understanding the linkages between the occurrence of weather phenomena and atmospheric circulation at all scales. My work has focused on the central United States and includes research on heavy precipitation events, diurnal variations in the characteristics of lightning flashes, the mesoscale structure of midlatitude cyclones, and the climatology of low-level jets. In terms of climate change research, I have evaluated the output of Global Climate Models (GCMs) in light of the potential application to regional climate change studies, developed downscaling methodologies for the construction of local/regional climate scenarios, and proposed methods for estimating the uncertainty surrounding estimates of climate change at the regional scale. I have also studied the potential impacts of climate change on specialized agriculture in the Great Lakes region.
Antoinette M.G.A. WinklerPrins
Department: Geography
E-mail: antoinet@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~antoinet
My research interests sit at the intersection of human and physical geography. My training at the undergraduate level was in urban geography, but at the Ph.D. level gravitated more toward physical, especially soil geography and geomorphology. My minor was soil science (pedology). I describe myself as a cultural/ political/historical ecologist working on issues of landscape transformation in the Brazilian Amazon. I am most interested in how people have and continue to transform their landscapes as they continually adapt and adjust both themselves and their environment to changing socio-economic circumstances.
Examples of research projects:
* local environmental knowledge, especially soil and agronomic knowledge, and how it can inform sustainable development strategies (in Brazil, Mexico, Kenya, Michigan);
* urban agriculture in Amazonia, especially the social networks that urban garden products sustain; related are garden agro-diversity, re-conceptualization of the household as a multi-loci unit;
* Amazonian dark-earth formation in homegardens;
* floodplain sedimentation and lake formation in the Amazon River;
* environmental history of Amazon floodplain forests and land-use;
* social and cultural impacts of outmigration in Central Mexico.
Scott R. Winterstein
Department: Fisheries & Wildlife
E-mail: winterst@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.fw.msu.edu/people/faculty.php
Scott R. Winterstein teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of wildlife population dynamics and management and wildlife biometry. His research focuses on the development and assessment of techniques to estimate population parameters of wild vertebrate populations. For the past seven years he has been involved in work related to the control of infectious diseases of wild and domestic animals. The wildlife disease research has focused on relating the behavior of white-tailed deer to short and long-term human-induced environmental changes and how these behavioral/environmental interactions impact the movement of diseases through the landscape.
Warren W. Wood
Department: Geological Sciences
E-mail: wwwood@msu.edu
Web site: http://geology.msu.edu/wood_w.html
Dr. Warren W. Wood is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in Integrative Studies, Visiting University Professor Oxford University Department of Geography and the Environment, UK and the Department of Hydrology Beijing Geoscience University, China. Dr. Wood spent 40 years as a Research Hydrologist with the United States Geological Survey before joining the Michigan State faculty in August 2003. Wood's interests are in the application of mass and energy flux to classic geologic problems of societal interests and the hydrogeology and sustainability of water of arid areas. His current research involves the origin of dolomite, origin of radon in ground water, and application of a new approach to site characterization of toxic and radioactive waste Solute Aquifer Testing for which a patent has been sought.
Irene Xagoraraki
Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering
E-mail: xagorara@egr.msu.edu
Web site: http://www.egr.msu.edu/cee/people/xagoraraki.html
Irene Xagoraraki earned her Ph.D. (2001) and MS (1995) in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her BS degree (1993) from the University of the Aegean in Greece. Before coming to MSU she held a postdoctoral position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research interests include drinking water safety, public health, and water quality engineering, with a particular focus on the detection, removal and inactivation of emerging biological and chemical contaminants in drinking water. Her recent research includes: occurrence of waterborne viruses in natural waters, fate of pharmaceuticals in water utilities, disinfection of enteric viruses in groundwater systems; inactivation of cyanobacterial toxins by chlorine, emerging pathogen removal in conventional water treatment processes, and coagulation and sedimentation of cryptosporidium parvum. The focus of her teaching is on water quality engineering.
Catherine H. Yansa
Department: Geography
E-mail: yansa@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~yansa/
My research focuses on reconstructing past environments in north-central North America since the last glacial maximum (over the last ~20,000 years) by studying plant fossils (pollen and plant macrofossils) preserved in lake sediments. The objectives and implications of my research are:
- to document past responses of plants to climate changes at various temporal and spatial scales and use these as analogs for potential responses of plants to predicted global warming; and
- to interpret the landscape contexts for prehistoric Native American occupations to explore long-term human-environment interactions
Runsheng Yin
Department: Forestry
E-mail: yinr@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.for.msu.edu/pages/faculty/yin_r.html
Dr. Yin's research interests fall into two broad areas - international forestry and forest business management. Included in the former are the impact of economic reform on forestry development, sustainable forest management, agroforestry and plantation forestry, forest products trade. Included in the latter are timberland ownership and forest investment, efficiency and productivity measurement of the wood products industry, timber market dynamics, decision making under uncertainty. Funded by the NSF and the USDA, his recent research has engaged in assessing the impacts of China's ecological restoration programs, developing a market modeling system for China's forest sector, and investigating the forest tenure reform in China. In addition to many book chapters, he has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles in such journals as World Development, Forest Science, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, and Canadian journal of Forest Research. He teaches Forestry in International Development and Economics of Renewable Resources.
Jinhua Zhao
Department: Economics; Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics
E-mail: jzhao@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.msu.edu/~jzhao
Jinhua holds appointments in the Department of Economics and the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics. His research interests include applied microeconomic theory, environmental and resource economics, energy economics, dynamic decision making under uncertainty, among others. He was a co-editor of the Journal of Environmental Economics and Management (2005-07) and is on the editorial council of JEEM and the Review of Development Economics.
Research interests include: Natural resource and environmental economics, applied micro theory, global climate change, energy economics, trade and environment, real option theory, technology adoption, dynamic decision making.
Shiyan (Sharon) Zhong
Department: Geography
E-mail: zhongs@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/zhong.html
Sharon Zhong is an associate professor in the Department of Geography at MSU. Her research focuses on land-atmosphere interactions, boundary layer and turbulence, regional climate modeling, hydrometeorology, mountain meteorology, air pollution meteorology, atmospheric transport and dispersion, and fire-atmosphere interactions. She has been PI or Co-PIs for two dozen federal or state founded projects. She has been, for the past six years, serving as an editor for Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, an international journal devoted to all applied aspects of atmospheric sciences. Prior to joining MSU in the fall of 2006, Sharon worked as an Associate Professor in the Geosciences Department at the University of Houston. Before that, she was a senior research scientist at the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Sharon received her doctoral and master’s degrees in atmospheric sciences from Iowa State University.
Leo C. Zulu
Department: Geography
E-mail: zulu@msu.edu
Web site: http://www.geo.msu.edu/faculty/zulu.html
Dr. Zulu's research interests include political ecology, environment and development, community-based natural resources management in rural Africa, deforestation, food security, socio-spatial, temporal and biophysical processes of land use and land cover change in Africa and the techniques that permit their examination including Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems, and vulnerability and adaptation of rural communities in southern Africa to climate change.
