College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Faculty and Staff Directory

David Flaspohler

David J. Flaspohler

  • Dean and Professor, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
  • Director of Undergraduate Programs

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Conservation biology
  • Avian ecology and reproduction
  • Cascading effects of deer overbrowse
  • Island ecology
Andrew Storer

Andrew J. Storer

  • Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
  • Professor, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Links of Interest

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
Hannah Abbotts

Hannah Abbotts

  • Research Scientist
  • Content Manager, USDA Climate Hubs and FS Climate Change Resource Center

Links of Interest

Climate Change Resource Center

USDA Climate Hubs

Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science

Karen Bacula

Karen Bacula

  • Director, Isle Royale Institute
Tara Bal

Tara L. Bal

  • Assistant Professor, Forest Health
  • Master of Forestry Degree Program Director
  • Wood Protection Group, Microbiology/Pathology Lab Leader

Teaching Interests

  • Forest Health
  • Forest Entomology
  • Forest Pathology
  • Wild Foods, Maple Syrup & Culture
  • Professionalism

Areas of Expertise

  • Forest Health Management and Monitoring
  • Forest Education, Diversity and Inclusion in Forestry and Natural Resources
  • Invasion Ecology
  • Wood Decay Testing and Pathology
  • Insect, Fungi, and Environmental Education, Pedagogy
Marjorie Banovetz
""Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.""
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Marjorie Banovetz

  • Senior Administrative Aide, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
  • Graduate Programs Assistant, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
Parth Bhatt
"The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence."
—Rabindranath Tagore

Parth P Bhatt

  • Assistant Teaching Professor/Researcher
  • Program Director, MGIS Online Program
  • GIS & Remote Sensing, MichiganView Member

Areas of Expertise

  • Geographical Information Systems
  • Remote Sensing
  • Web GIS/ArcGIS Online
  • Digital Image Processing and Image Enhancement (Multispectral, LiDAR, UAV, Hyperspectral)
  • Land use/cover Mapping
  • Natural Habitat Community Mapping
  • Machine Learning/Deep Learning/Artificial Intelligence 
  • Forest Health and Natural Resource Management
  • Spatial Data and Statistical Analysis
  • Invasive Species Mapping

Links of Interest

Kristin Brzeski

Kristin Brzeski

  • Associate Professor

Links of Interest

My webpage

Biodiversity Initiative

 

Areas of Expertise

  • Conservation genetics
  • Canid genomics
  • Noninvasive methods in wildlife management
  • Wildlife immuno- & epi- genetics
  • Applied conservation in Central Africa

 

Andrew Burton
"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

  • Distinguished Professor
  • Associate Dean for Research
  • Coordinator of Interdisciplinary, Multi-Institutional Research

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Forest responses to global change factors
  • Belowground processes
  • Carbon and nutrient cycling
  • Physiological ecology of tree roots
  • Undergraduate involvement in research
Julia Burton
"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace."
—Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Julia I. Burton

  • Associate Professor, Silviculture

Links of Interest

Silviculture & Forest Dynamics Lab

Areas of Expertise

  • Silviculture
  • Functional ecology
  • Conservation of biodiversity in managed forests
  • Climate change adaptation and mitigation
  • Forest community and stand dynamics
  • Disturbance ecology
Victor Busov
"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

  • Professor

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Regulation of winter bud dormancy
  • Gibberellins metabolism and signal transduction pathway
  • Regulation of lateral root formation in relation to nitrogen and drought stress
  • Regulation and evolution of secondary growth in woody perennials
  • Micro and small RNAs regulation of development and response to environment
Lori Carne

Lori Carne

  • Facility Staff
Molly Cavaleri
"The wonder is that we can see these trees and not wonder more."
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Molly A. Cavaleri

  • Associate Dean & Professor
  • Director of Graduate Studies

Links of Interest

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
Rodney Chimner
"We are what we imagine ourselves to be."
—Kurt Vonnegut, Jr

Rodney A. Chimner

  • Professor

Links of Interest


Areas of Expertise

  • Peatland and wetland restoration
  • Peatland and wetland carbon cycling
  • Mountain wetlands
  • Tropical peatlands
  • Ecosystem carbon cycling
  • Wetland ecohydrology
Stacy Cotey

Stacy R Cotey

  • Assistant Teaching Professor

Areas of Expertise

  • Mesocarnivore ecology
  • Landscape ecology
  • Wildlife-habitat relationships
  • Conservation planning
  • Science communication
  • Citizen science
Zhaohua Dai

Zhaohua Dai

  • Research Assistant Professor
Jennifer Eikenberry

Jennifer Eikenberry

  • Assistant Research Scientist

Areas of Expertise

  • Stable isotopes
  • Forest ecology
  • Mass spectrometry
Valoree Gagnon

Valoree Gagnon

  • Assistant Professor, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
  • Affiliated Assistant Professor, Humanities

Links of Interest

Research Interests

  • University-Community Partnerships, research engagement, and equitable practice and design
  • Environmental Justice and Policy, toxic substances, risk management, and promoting holistic health
  • Indigenous / Native American Studies, treaties and the government-to-government relationship, food sovereignty, and Indigenous wisdom in the Great Lakes region
  • Environmental Stewardship and the Seven Generations Philosophy
Kathy Halvorsen

Kathy Halvorsen

  • Associate Vice President for Research, Integrity and Facilities
  • University Professor of Natural Resource Policy
  • Joint Appointment in Social Sciences and CFRES

Areas of Expertise

  • Climate change mitigation policy
  • Arctic climate change impacts
  • Energy conservation policy
  • Renewable energy policy
  • Indigeneity and climate policy
Kat Hanson
"If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?"
—T.S. Eliot

Kat Hanson

  • Undergraduate Academic Advisor
Katherine Heckman

Katherine Heckman

  • Research Biological Scientist
  • Radiocarbon Collaborative Manager

Links of Interest

Radiocarbon Collaborative

Areas of Expertise

Soil organic matter stabilization, characterization and cycling

Radiocarbon analysis and application

Soil mineralogy, organo-mineral interactions

Kathryn Hofmeister

Kathryn Hofmeister

  • Assistant Teaching Professor/Researcher

Areas of Interest

  • Water and soil resources
  • Surface-groundwater interactions
  • Biogeochemistry
  • Forest and wetland ecology
  • Land use change and disturbances
  • Geospatial modeling
Sarah Hoy

Sarah Hoy

  • Assistant Professor

Specialties

  • Predator-prey interactions
  • Animal ecology and conservation
  • Population biology
  • Life-history trade-offs
Mike Hyslop
"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

Mike Hyslop

  • Teaching Professor
  • Master of Geographic Information Science Degree Program Director

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Geographic information systems
  • Cartography
  • Global positioning systems
  • Great Lakes Quaternary (glacial) geomorphology
Mickey Jarvi
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference"
—Robert Frost

Mickey Jarvi

  • Associate Teaching Professor

Areas of Expertise

  • Forest ecology with an emphasis on belowground processes
  • Ecophysiology
  • Forest response to global climate change
  • Tree species native range differences in nutrient cycling
  • Forestry and natural resource issues identified through the use of multispectral and hyperspectral imagery attached to unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) 
Chandrashekhar Joshi
"Cellulose is the fiber of human civilization."

Chandrashekhar P. Joshi

  • Emeritus Research Professor, Biological Sciences
  • Affiliated Professor, CFRES

Links of Interest

Ecosystem Science Center

Research Interests: Biological Sciences

  • Plant Molecular Genetics

Areas of Expertise: Biology and Forestry

  • Cellulose and lignin biosynthesis in trees
  • Wood formation
  • Tree growth and development
  • Engineering trees
  • Forest bioinformatics/computational biology
Martin Jurgensen
"Soil is the basis of all terrestrial life."

Martin F. Jurgensen

  • Research 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
Evan Kane

Evan S. Kane

  • Professor

Areas of Expertise

  • Soil carbon
  • Plant/soil relationships
  • Decomposition
  • Dissolved organic carbon
  • Wildfire
  • Black carbon
Carsten Külheim
"Forestry will become a major provider of key materials; from construction to high-tech to biofuels. It is our job to ensure trees thrive."

Carsten Külheim

  • Associate Professor

Links of Interest

Kuelheim Laboratory

Areas of Expertise

  • Genetic basis of trait variation
  • Plant adaptation to local environment
  • Plant secondary metabolism
  • Chemical ecology including plant –herbivore interactions
  • Functional genomics of plant defences
Cindy Kela

Cindy Kela

  • Custodian
Adrienne Keller

Adrienne Keller

  • Research Assistant Professor

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Ecosystem ecology
  • Terrestrial carbon and nutrient cycling
  • Ecosystem carbon management
  • Climate mitigation and adaptation
  • Urban ecology
Erik Keranen

Erik Keranen

  • Assistant Research Scientist

Areas of Expertise

  • Wood protection
  • Wood composites
  • Physical and mechanical properties testing of wood and wood composites
  • Field-testing of wood products for decay and insect resistance
Nancy Langston

Nancy Langston

  • Distinguished Professor Emerita

Links of Interest

Areas of Interest

  • Toxics, forested watersheds, and northern lakes
  • Environmental history
  • Watershed change and water quality
  • Mining history
Robert Laverne
"We are, in actuality, students of that greater order known as nature. It is into nature that man vanishes."
—Loren Eiseley

Robert James Laverne

  • Adjunct Associate Professor

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Urban Forestry
  • Arboriculture
  • Tree Appraisal and Expert Witness Services
  • Environmental, Economic and Social Benefits of Urban Forests
  • Soundscape Ecology
Erik Lilleskov
"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

Links of Interest

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
Tao Liu

Tao Liu

  • Assistant Professor in Remote Sensing and GIS

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Remote sensing
  • Change detection
  • Natural disaster mapping
  • Invasive species mapping
  • Landcover mapping
  • Vegetation property extraction with remote sensing techniques 
Fengjing Liu
"Water is the new oil: a resource long squandered and soon to be overwhelmed by insatiable demand."
—The Economist

Fengjing Liu

  • Associate Professor

Links of Interest

Black Ash Wetland Ecosystem Processes

Google Scholar Page

Areas of Expertise

  • Ecohydrology and forest hydrology
  • Hydrological and biogeochemical processes in snowmelt-dominated watersheds
  • Black ash wetland ecosystem processes 
Ann Maclean
"The practical application of knowledge is what moves us forward."

Ann Maclean

  • Professor Emerita

Areas of Expertise

  • Remote sensing
  • Digital image processing
  • Geographic information systems
  • Spatial modeling
Kailey Marcinkowski

Kailey Marcinkowski

  • Research Scientist

Specialties

  • High-elevation forest ecosystems
  • Dendrochronology
  • Climate change impacts and adaptation
  • Science outreach and communication
John McCarty

John P. McCarty

  • Professor of Practice

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  •  Ecology and Conservation of Birds

  • Environmental Science and Sustainability

  • Global Climate Change

  • Conservation in Agricultural Landscapes

Lucas Nave
"Knowing what thou knowest not is in a sense omniscience."
—Piet Hein

Lucas Nave

  • Research Associate Professor
  • Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science

Links of Interest

Specialties

  • Forest ecology
  • Soil carbon management
  • Biogeochemistry
  • Data synthesis and meta-analysis
Rolf Peterson
"The challenge of wild carnivore restoration."

Rolf O. Peterson

  • Research Professor

Areas of Expertise

  • Mammalian ecology
  • Predator-prey relationships
  • Ecology and behavior of gray wolves
Sigrid Resh
"Every tree has its enemy, few have an advocate."
—J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973)

Sigrid Resh

  • Research Assistant Professor
  • Coordinator, Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area (KISMA)

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Invasive species research, treatments, and education/outreach
  • Forest restoration
  • Soil sustainability
Robert Ross

Robert Ross

  • Research Professor

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Forest Biomaterials
  • Nondestructive Evaluation
  • Structural Condition Assessment
Mark Rudnicki

Mark Rudnicki

  • Professor of Practice in Forest Biomaterials
  • Coordinator of Industrial Research, Innovation, and Commercialization
  • Director of Ford Center and Forest

Areas of Expertise

  • Forest Biomaterials
  • Tree biomechanics
  • Wind and trees
  • Dendrochronology
  • Extension and Outreach
Chelsea Schelly

Chelsea Schelly

  • Professor of Sociology, Department of Social Sciences
  • Affiliated Professor, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
  • Director of Research, Center for Innovation in Sustainability & Resilience

Links of Interest

Research Interests

  • Socio-technological system transitions
  • Technology adoption
  • Energy policy
  • Energy practices
  • Sustainable communities
  • Self-provisioning
  • Environmental education
James Schmierer
"Useful concepts must be placed in context and rendered operational."

James M. Schmierer

  • Assistant Teaching Professor

Links of Interest

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
Danielle Shannon

Danielle Shannon

  • Research Scientist
  • Coordinator, USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub

Links of Interest

Terry Sharik

Terry Sharik

  • Research Professor
  • Dean Emeritus & Professor Emeritus

Areas of Interest/Study

  • Academic leadership in natural resources
  • Educational reform in natural resources
  • Trends in natural resource enrollments
  • Regeneration ecology of forests
Christopher Swanston

Christopher W. Swanston

  • Forest Service Climate Advisor
  • Director, Office of Sustainability and Climate
  • Adjunct Professor

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
Jim Tolan
"There are no larger fields than these, no worthier games than may here be played."
—Henry David Thoreau

Jim Tolan

  • Manager of Operations Ford Center and Forest
Karin Van Dyke

Karin Van Dyke

  • Director for Charitable Giving

Links of Interest

Specialties

  • Meet with alumni and established donors to secure major gifts valued at $25,000 or greater
  • Identify and develop key potential alumni, friends, donors as top prospects within portfolio
  • Meet with prospects to determine their affinity and readiness, introduce strategic opportunities, and discuss gifting options for their consideration
  • Present gift proposals that best represent the donor's intention and capacity
  • Assist in the gift process, follow up, and stewardship of secured gift
  • Represent College of Sciences and Arts, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, and Graduate School as areas of special concentration
Windy Veker

Windy Veker

  • College Marketing and Communications Manager, University Marketing and Communications

About Windy

  • Windy uses engaging writing and marketing strategies to elevate the stories of students, faculty and staff in both the College of Sciences and Arts and the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science with effective, on-brand content and communications.
  • Her professional background includes copy editing for the Daily Mining Gazette and broadcast journalism experiences as a TV6 bureau reporter.
  • She enjoys watching campy horror movies, listening to podcasts and playing table top roleplaying games with her family and friends.
Steven Voelker

Steven Voelker

  • Associate Professor of Forest Ecology & Management
John Vucetich

John A. Vucetich

  • Distinguished Professor

Links of Interest

Areas of Expertise

  • Demographic and genetic elements of population biology
  • Ecology of wolves and moose
  • Environmental ethics
Leah Vucetich
"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
Christopher Webster
"To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering."
—Aldo Leopold

Christopher R. Webster

  • Professor

Areas of Expertise

  • Gap dynamics and disturbance ecology
  • Invasion biology of exotic species
  • Landscape ecology
  • Plant community ecology
  • Restoration silviculture
  • Wildlife habitat relationships
Hairong Wei

Hairong Wei

  • Professor
  • Editor-in-Chief, Forestry Research (ForRes)
  • Affiliated Professor, Department of Computer Science & Department of Mathematics

Software developed by Wei group

 

    Research Interests

  • Bioinformatics tool and software development
  • Identification of genes regulating complex traits via systems biology approaches
  • Algorithms for gene network construction;
  • Genomics of wood formation
  • Functional genomics.

  • Genome Assembly and annotation

     

     

Sierra Williams

Sierra Williams

  • Outreach Coordinator
Phyllis Williamson

Phyllis Williamson

  • Director of Administration
Jared Wolfe

Jared D. Wolfe

  • Assistant Professor

Links of Interest

Wolfe webpage

Biodiversity Initiative

Fields of Expertise

  • Wildlife conservation in working landscapes
  • Temperate and tropical avian ecology
  • Demographic modeling
  • Avian molts and plumage
Xinfeng Xie

Xinfeng Xie

  • Associate Professor of Forest Biomaterials

Areas of Expertise

  • Carbon materials derived from wood, lignin, and cellulose
  • Integrated thermochemical conversion and fractionation of lignocellulosic biomass
  • Carbon-polymer composites and hybrid materials
  • Wood protection and preservation
  • Wood properties, quality, and modification
Yinan Yuan
"The RNA regulatory system might have been essential prerequisite to both the evolution of developmentally sophisticated multicellular organisms and the rapid expansion of phenotypic complexity into uncontested environment."

Yinan Yuan

  • Assistant Professor

Areas of Expertise

  • Identification and characterization of natural antisense transcripts in woody plants 
  • Functionality of alternative splicing and fusion RNAs in plant growth and development 
  • Sequencing complex plant transcriptome through targeted nanopore direct RNA sequencing methods
Shasha Zhang

Shasha Zhang

  • Project Accountant