Adjunct and Affiliated Faculty

Robert A Andersen

Adjunct Professor, Biological Sciences
Senior Research Scientist, University of Washington
Emeritus Director, Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (CCMP, now NCMA)

Research Interests

Chrysophyte algae
Algal Systematics
Algal Culturing

Purnima Bandyopadhyay

Research Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
Adjunct Professor, Biological Sciences

Jennifer Becker

Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Affiliated Associate Professor, Biological Sciences

Links of Interest

Faculty Webpage

Teaching Interests

Water and wastewater treatment
Biological treatment processes

Research Interests

Bioremediation of Contaminated Groundwater Environments
Microbial Ecology and Kinetics of Chlorinated Aliphatic Solvent Biodegradation
Conversion of Organic Solid Wastes and Cellulosic Feedstocks to Electricity via Microbial Fuel Cells

Lanrong Bi

Associate Professor, Chemistry
Affiliated Associate Professor, Biological Sciences

Research Interests

Chemical biology: development of novel molecular probes for DNA sequencing analysis and disease gene discovery
Medicinal chemistry: development of new imaging and therapeutic agents towards cancer and cardiovascular disease; Design and synthesis of novel prodrugs of peptides and peptide mimetics.

Colin Brooks

Senior Research Scientist, Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI)
Adjunct Lecturer, Biological Sciences

Areas of Expertise

Transportation Applications Including Road and Bridge Condition Assessment
Mapping of Changing Ecosystems
Agricultural Remote Sensing
Geohazard Evaluation
Invasive Species Mapping With a Focus on Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
Developing Unmanned Aerial System Capabilities
3D Optical, Multispectral, Thermal, and LiDAR Sensing
Decision Support System and App Development
Integration of Remote Sensing Technologies Into Sponsor Workflows
Research Project Management

Research Interests

Aquatic and Landscape Ecology
Invasive Species Mapping
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring
Applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems
Assessment of Transportation Infrastructure Condition Using Remote Sensing
Automated Road and Bridge Condition Analysis
Multispectral Sensing
Development and Deployment of Decision Support Systems
Land Cover Change Mapping and Monitoring

Qing-Hui Chen

Associate Professor, Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
Affiliated Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
Affiliated Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering

qinghuic@mtu.edu
906-487-1629
SDC 231/Dow 407

Research Interests

Cardiovascular physiology, neurophysiology and exercise science.
Neural mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders.
Neural mechanisms of exercise training in regulating autonomic and cardiovascular function.

Steven J. Elmer

Associate Professor, Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
Affiliated Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
Affiliated Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Research Interests

Adaptations to exercise training
Functional losses following injury
Skeletal muscle function
Cycling biomechanics
Physiology education

Caryn Heldt

Director, Health Research Institute
James and Lorna Mack Chair in Bioengineering
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering

heldt@mtu.edu
906-487-1134
Chem Sci 305B

Links of Interest

Heldt Bioseparations Lab

Research Interests

Bioseparations
Virus removal and detection
Biosensors

Jill A. Olin

Research Scientist, Great Lakes Research Center
Assistant Research Professor, Biological Sciences

Areas of Expertise

Ecology of aquatic systems
Fisheries science
Aquatic-terrestrial energy linkages
Dietary biomarkers (e.g., stable isotopes, fatty acids, compound-specific isotopes of AA and FA)
Trophic ecology of top predators in marine, estuarine and coastal communities
Predator-prey interactions

Research Interests

Understanding species- and food web-level responses to environmental stressors using combined dietary biomarker, ecological and modeling approaches
Evaluating distributional patterns of organisms and the mechanisms that drive these patterns
Using abundance and biomass estimates to quantify nekton communities
Quantifying the mechanisms and processes that structure food webs and ecosystems
Developing ecosystem models to evaluate the effect of environmental change

"Striving to better, oft we mar what's well"

Michael D.K. Owen

Adjunct Professor, Biological Sciences
Associate Chair, Agronomy Department (Iowa State University)

Research Interests

Invasive plants
Herbicide resistance
Genetically modified crops
Gene introgression in plants

Dibyendu Sarkar

Adjunct Professor, Biological Sciences
Professor and Director, Sustainability Management Program
Stevens Institute of Technology

Links of Interest

Research Interests

Application of Low-Temperature Geochemistry and Biogeochemistry in Environmental Contamination Problems
Application of Biogeochemistry in Waste Recycling and Nutrient Management in Soils
Application of Soil Chemistry and Biology in Environmental Remediation Problems
Estimation of Ecological and Human Health Risk for Environmental Decision-Making

Eric Seagren, PE

Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Affiliated Professor, Biological Sciences

Links of Interest

Faculty Webpage

Research Interests

Environmental biotechnology, including in situ bioremediation of contaminated subsurface environments, monitoring and evaluation of the performance of biological treatment processes, development of in situ biological treatment systems for urban storm water runoff, innovative reuse of waste materials, and in situ improvement of soils properties via microbially-mediated processes.