Faculty
"Nature loves to hide"
—Heraclitus
—Heraclitus
Joseph K. Bump
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Predators & ecological hotspots
- Aquatic-terrestrial links
- Stable isotopes in wildlife ecology
- Wind energy-wildlife issues
"Every day in the woods is a good day - don't get so caught up in the work at hand that you forget to look around and appreciate where you are."
Andrew J. Burton
Associate Professor; Director, Ecosystem Science Center
Director, Midwestern Regional Center of the DOE National Institute for Climatic Change Research
Areas of Expertise
- Forest responses to global change factors
- Belowground processes
- Carbon and nutrient cycling
- Physiological ecology of tree roots
- Undergraduate involvement in research
"I consider myself extremely fortunate to live in a time when genome revolution in many areas of biology is enabling unprecedented depth into our understanding of life."
Victor Busov
Associate Professor
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Functional genomics of plant development
- Gibberellins metabolism and signal transduction pathway
- Regulation of lateral root formation in relation to abiotic stress
- Regulation and evolution of secondary growth in woody perennials
- Micro and small RNAs regulation of development and response to environment
"The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
—Ralph Waldo Emerson
Molly A. Cavaleri
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Forest canopy structure and function
- Forest response to global change
- Carbon and water cycling through forests
- Tree ecophysiology
- Stable isotope ecology
- Invasive tree species
"We are what we imagine ourselves to be"
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Applied wetland ecology
- Peatland and wetland restoration
- Peatlands
- Mountain wetlands
- Tropical peatlands
- Ecosystem carbon cycling
- Wetland ecohydrology
Paul V. Doskey
Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Atmospheric Sciences
- Environmental Engineering
- Environmental Biogeochemistry and Sustainability
"Quantifying ecosystem composition and structure -in a spatially explicit manner- is paramount to the development and evaluation of effective sustainable forest management practices and policies"
Michael J. Falkowski
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Remote sensing of vegetation structure and composition
- LiDAR remote sensing
- Forest mensuration and biometrics
- Landscape ecology
- Wildlife habitat modeling
- Remote sensing of active fire and post-fire effects
- Fire ecology
- Spatial ecology
- Statistics
"Hope is the thing with feathers. That perches in the soul."
—Emily Dickinson
—Emily Dickinson
David J. Flaspohler
Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Conservation biology
- Avian ecology and reproduction
- Cascading effects of deer overbrowse
- Island ecology
"Every ecosystem is now a managed ecosystem, even preserves, as human influences may be seen across the globe."
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Sampling, inventory and monitoring program design
- Biomass harvesting and forest productivity
- Intensive silviculture esp. Populus plantation management
- Empirical, process and hybrid forest modelling
"Genetic variation is the foundation for the ability of forest trees to adapt environmental changes"
Oliver Gailing
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Ecological genetics and genomics
- Population genetics of forest trees
- Conservation genetics
- Genetic mapping and QTL analyses
- Forensic genetics
"Native ability without education is like a tree without fruit"
—Theodore Roosevelt
—Theodore Roosevelt
Margaret R. Gale
Dean
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Wetland ecology
- Hydrological modeling
- Carbon and nitrogen dynamics in wetlands
- Wetland classification and mapping
Kathleen E. Halvorsen
Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Woody bioenergy
- Climate change
- Natural resource policy
- Water resource policy
"A good map tells a multitude of little white lies; it suppresses truth to help the user see what needs to be seen. ...the value of a map depends on how well its content reflects a chosen aspect of reality."
—Mark Monmonier
—Mark Monmonier
Mike Hyslop
Senior Academic Consultant/Lecturer
Areas of Expertise
- Geographic information systems
- Cartography
- Global positioning systems
- Great Lakes Quaternary (glacial) geomorphology
"Cellulose is the fiber of human civilization."
Chandrashekhar P. Joshi
Professor of Plant Molecular Genetics
Areas of Expertise
- Cellulose and lignin biosynthesis in trees
- Wood formation
- Tree growth and development
- Engineering trees
- Forest bioinformatics
"Soil is the basis of all terrestrial life."
Martin F. Jurgensen
Professor
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Forest soil productivity, management and sustainability
- Global climate change impact on soil biology
- Organic matter decomposition and ecosystem nutrient cycling
"If trees could run away from their place of establishment, believe me many of them probably would!"
Evan S. Kane
Research Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Soil carbon
- Plant/soil relationships
- Decomposition
- Dissolved organic carbon
- Wildfire
- Black carbon
"Wood is good!"
Peter Laks
Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Fungal and insect resistance of wood-based composites
- Preservative systems for solid and composite wood building products
- Nanoparticle wood preservative systems
- Field-testing of wood products for biodegradation resistance
"Change is the norm in ecosystems. What is new is the rate of change. How we respond to this change will be our legacy to future generations."
Erik Lilleskov
Adjunct Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Forest ecology
- Ecosystems ecology
- Physiological ecology
- Community ecology
- Fungal ecology
- Mycorrhizal fungi
- Molecular ecology
- Soil ecology
- Global environmental change impacts on forest ecosystems
- Invasive species impacts
- Biogeography of invasive soil organisms
"The practical application of knowledge is what moves us forward."
Ann Maclean
Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Remote sensing
- Digital image processing
- Geographic information systems
- Spatial modeling
"Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life."
—Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder
—Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder
Audrey L. Mayer
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Environmental policy and environmental science
- Sociology of natural resources
- Natural resource and environmental policy
- Sustainability science
- Landscape ecology
- Diversity patterns of terrestrial vertebrates
- Bird conservation
"I believe in the power of asking good questions."
Linda M. Nagel
Associate Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Forest vegetation dynamics
- Silviculture of the Great Lakes region
- Invasive plant species in forested ecosystems
- Adaptive silviculture in the face of climate change
"Is peace simply the absence of war? Or is peace the absence of the conditions that bring on war, the conditions of hunger, disease, poverty, illiteracy and despair?"
—Loret Miller Ruppe
—Loret Miller Ruppe
Blair D. Orr
Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Forestry in developing nations
- Forest economics
- Land use in the Upper Peninsula
"The challenge of wild carnivore restoration."
Rolf O. Peterson
Research Professor—Robbins Chair
Areas of Expertise
- Mammalian ecology
- Predator-prey relationships
- Ecology and behavior of gray wolves
"The most encouraging student evaluation I ever received was: This guy doesn't care what we think. He cares how we think."
James B. Pickens
Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Optimal bucking of hardwood logs
- Log bucker training to increase value recovery
- Approaches for adapting to risk and uncertainty in optimization models
"How can something as small as a lichen possibly affect the hydrology of a forest?"
Thomas G. Pypker
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Forest hydrology
- Micrometeorology
- Ecohydrology
- Carbon cycling
- Stable isotopes
"An old pine tree can teach you the sacred truths."
—Zen proverb, Kosho Hannya Wo Danzu
—Zen proverb, Kosho Hannya Wo Danzu
Sigrid Resh
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Forest carbon dynamics
- Soil carbon sequestration
- Forest restoration
- Isotope applications in forests
"The careful observation of nature is the first step in caring for the earth."
Dana L. Richter
Research Scientist II
Areas of Expertise
- Forest mycology, pathology, fungal ecology
- Tree and forest disease diagnosis and assessment
- Wood decay & mold/stain testing
- Mycorrhizae, plants and mushrooms
"The promotion of conifers and mid-tolerant hardwoods in our northern hardwood forests is one way to mitigate future invasive species."
Areas of Expertise
- White pine establishment
- Mid-tolerant hardwoods
- Forest health and diversity
- Maple syrup production
- Using technology to assist in forest management
"All our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions"
—Leonardo da Vinci
—Leonardo da Vinci
Sara Robinson
Research Assistant Professor
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Spalting
- Pigment producing fungi
- Value-added wood products
- Bio art
- Wood Design
"Useful concepts must be placed in context and rendered operational."
James M. Schmierer
Forester/Instructor
Areas of Expertise
- Management and silviculture of northern hardwoods and boreal forests
- Timber harvesting and site preparation effects on forest regeneration
- Forest recreational development and management
"Whether it is wading in a stream to sample trout, digging under logs to count salamanders or peering under rocks to examine mayflies, both teaching and research benefit from this type of real world experience"
Amy Schrank
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Aquatic ecology
- Aquatic-terrestrial links
- Conservation and management of aquatic systems
- Long-term monitoring
Areas of Expertise
- Forest insect ecology
- Insect/fungus/plant interactions in forest ecosystems
- Impacts of exotic species on forest ecosystems
- Interactions among fire, insects and disease in forests
- Urban forest health
Christopher W. Swanston
Research Ecologist; Adjunct Assistant Professor
Director, Northern Institute of Applied of Applied Climate Science
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Soil organic carbon stabilization and cycling
- Radiocarbon analysis and interpretation
- Forest response and adaptation to climate change
- Landscape scale conservation
"A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows."
—Doug Larson
—Doug Larson
Catherine Tarasoff
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Invasion ecology
- Road ecology
- Applied restoration and weed control
- Stress tolerance and competition
"I am a population biologist. I spend most of my time studying the wolves and moose of Isle Royale. I am also interested in the philosophy and ethics of ecological and conservation science."
John A. Vucetich
Associate Professor
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Demographic and genetic elements of population biology
- Ecology of wolves and moose
- Environmental ethics
"Whether working with students in the lab, field or classroom, nothing beats seeing the spark of understanding ignite a passion for learning."
Leah M. Vucetich
Research Assistant Professor
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Isle Royale wolf genetics
- Field research methods
"Maintaining balance and stability in natural systems requires embracing their underlying chaos."
Christopher R. Webster
Associate Professor
Areas of Expertise
- Gap dynamics and disturbance ecology
- Invasion biology of exotic species
- Landscape ecology
- Plant community response to herbivory
- Restoration silviculture
- Wildlife habitat relationships
"We are doing excellent job in describing how an individual gene functions, but not how life functions. Systems biology is to fill this gap."
—Can we identify genes regulating traits? --- Yes, we can.
—Can we identify genes regulating traits? --- Yes, we can.
Links of Interest
Areas of Expertise
- Identification of genes regulating traits via systems biology apporaches
- Gene expression data analysis
- Gene network construction and decomposition
- Developing software for mining large-scale biological data
- Genomics of wood formation
"The RNA regulatory system might have been essential prerequisite to both the evolution of developmentally sophisticated multicellular organisms and the rapid expansion of phenotyptic complexity into uncontested environment"
Yinan Yuan
Research Assistant Professor
906-487-2912
yinyuan@mtu.edu
yinyuan@mtu.edu
Areas of Expertise
- Identification and characterization of natural antisense transcripts in woody plants
- Alternative splicing and salicylic acid metabolism in populus
- Sequencing complex plant genome through gene-enriched methods