Vita: Pdf or RTF Format
Areas of expertise:
Plant-insect interactions; ecology and management of insects in forests, urban forests, ornamental landscapes, and nurseries; invasive forest pests including emerald ash borer and gypsy moth.
Signature area: Environmental Quality and Sustainability
Other information:
- Ph.D. 1991 Michigan State University: Entomology, Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Research (70% appointment):
My research program focuses broadly on chemical ecology of interactions between woody plants and insect herbivores, and IPM for woody plants in forests, urban forests, landscapes, and nurseries. A primary emphasis is plant defense theory and its application to pest management. Specific interests include stress physiology of trees, mechanisms of tree resistance to insects, phenotypic plasticity in chemical defense (secondary metabolism), and effects of stress and cultural practices on expression of constitutive and induced insect resistance of trees. A major focus is on ecology and management of emerald ash borer (EAB) with projects focused on host plant resistance from a coevolutionary perspective, ecological impacts of EAB-induced ash mortality and gap formation in forests, and insecticides for control of EAB.
Extension (30% appointment):
My extension program is focused on management of insect pests in forests, urban forests, ornamental landscapes, Christmas tree plantations, and nurseries. Key programs focus on emerald ash borer and gypsy moth in urban and natural forests, plant health care for Green Industry professionals, IPM for production nurseries, and ecologically sound gardening practices for the home landscape.
Teaching: ENT 790, The Nature and Practice of Science
This course addresses issues of importance to scientists but not ordinarily addressed by the graduate curriculum. The goal is to analyze the process of accumulating and justifying scientific knowledge, while critically examining and sharpening views of what science is and how it should be done. The application of philosophical concepts to the actual process of research is emphasized. The first portion of the course provides in depth analysis of the scientific method including role of inductive and deductive logic in the construction and testing of theories. Subsequent sections address scientific ethics including research, scholarship, and application of scientific knowledge, as well as social aspects of science including evaluation of scientific productivity.
|
