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Faculty

Faculty within the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences conduct research on Pennsylvania’s forests, wildlife and fisheries, soils, and watersheds. Our research scientists work together in an inter-disciplinary approach to create new knowledge and provide students with a scientific foundation for professional careers managing these natural resources.
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Marc David Abrams, Ph.D.
Marc David Abrams, Ph.D.
  • Nancy and John Steimer Professor of Agricultural Sciences
  • Professor of Forest Ecology and Physiology


814-865-4901

Areas of Expertise

  • Global change ecology
Julian D. Avery, Ph.D.
Julian D. Avery, Ph.D.
  • Assistant Research Professor
  • Wildlife Ecology and Conservation


Areas of Expertise

  • Invasion Ecology
  • Population Genetics
  • Wildlife Ecology
  • Evolution
  • Conservation Biology
  • Animal Coloration
  • Island Biology
Elizabeth W. Boyer, Ph.D.
Elizabeth W. Boyer, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor of Water Resources
  • Director, Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center
  • Assistant Director, Institutes of Energy & the Environment


814-865-8830

Victoria Braithwaite, Ph.D.
Victoria Braithwaite, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Fisheries and Biology


814-865-4675

Margaret C. Brittingham, Ph.D.
Margaret C. Brittingham, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Wildlife Resources
  • Extension Wildlife Specialist


814-863-8442

Areas of Expertise

  • Avian ecology
  • Effects of shale gas development on forests and birds
  • forest songbirds
  • Human impacts on bird population
  • Wildlife habitat management on private lands
  • Landscaping for birds and wildlife
Mary Ann Victoria Bruns, Ph.D.
Mary Ann Victoria Bruns, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor of Soil Microbiology and Biogeochemistry


814-863-0779

Areas of Expertise

  • Soil microbiology
  • Nitrogen cycle
  • Soil quality
  • Ecological restoration
  • Biogeochemistry
Eric Burkhart, Ph.D.
Eric Burkhart, Ph.D.
  • Faculty Instructor, Ecosystem Science and Management Department
  • Plant Science Program Director, Shaver's Creek Environmental Center


814-865-3951

Areas of Expertise

  • Field botany and plant identification
  • Plant husbandry and horticulture
  • Wild plant conservation, management and policy
  • Agroforestry practices and applications in temperate ecosystems
  • Economic botany and ethnobotany
  • Non-timber forest products (maple syrup, wild fungi, medicinal plants)
  • Invasive plant identification, ecology and management
John E. Carlson, Ph.D.
John E. Carlson, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Molecular Genetics
  • Director of The Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics


814-863-9164

Areas of Expertise

  • Genomics
  • Conservation Genetics
  • Renewable Energy
  • Biotechnology
Duane Diefenbach, Ph.D.
Duane Diefenbach, Ph.D.
  • Adjunct Professor of Wildlife Ecology
  • Leader, PA Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit


814-865-3992

Areas of Expertise

  • biometrics
  • white-tailed deer
  • harvest management
  • population estimation
Patrick Drohan, Ph.D.
Patrick Drohan, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor of Pedology


814-863-4246

Areas of Expertise

  • Soil Science
  • Watershed Management
  • Landscape Ecology
  • Natural Resource Management
Jonathan M. Duncan, Ph.D., M.P.A.
Jonathan M. Duncan, Ph.D., M.P.A.
  • Assistant Professor of Hydrology


814-865-7554

Areas of Expertise

  • Ecohydrology
  • Hydrology
  • Biogeochemistry
  • Terrain Analysis
  • Water Quality
  • Watershed Management
David Eissenstat, Ph.D.
David Eissenstat, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Woody Plant Physiology
  • Chair of Ecology Intercollege Graduate Degree Program


814-863-3371

Areas of Expertise

  • Root biology and ecology
  • Mycorrhizal ecology
  • Plant Physiological Ecology
  • Plant Ecology
  • Global Change Biology
  • Belowground Ecology
  • Fruit tree physiology
William Elmendorf, Ph.D.
William Elmendorf, Ph.D.
  • Professor
  • Ibberson Chair in Urban and Community Forestry
  • Extension Specialist, Community and Urban Forestry


814-863-7941

C. Paola Ferreri, Ph.D.
C. Paola Ferreri, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor of Fisheries Management
  • Associate Director of Academic Programs


814-863-2095

Li Guo, Ph.D.
Li Guo, Ph.D.
  • Assistant Research Professor


Areas of Expertise

  • Hydropedology, Near-surface Geophysics, Ecohydrology
  • Remote Sensing of Environment, Climate Change
  • Critical Zone Science, Ecology and Evolution
Michael Jacobson, Ph.D.
Michael Jacobson, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Forest Resources


814-865-3994

Areas of Expertise

  • Water Energy Food Nexus
  • Bioenergy
  • Agroforestry
  • Forest Economics and Finance
  • International Forestry
  • Forest Extension
  • Non Timber Forest Products
Jason Kaye, Ph.D.
Jason Kaye, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry
  • Chair of Ecology Intercollege Graduate Degree Program


814-863-1614

Areas of Expertise

  • Ecosystem ecology
  • Nitrogen cycle
  • Carbon cycle
  • Forest ecosystems
  • Sustainable agriculture
Margot Wilkinson Kaye, Ph.D.
Margot Wilkinson Kaye, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor of Forest Ecology


814-865-4841

Areas of Expertise

  • Global change ecology
  • Forest ecology
  • Dendrochronology
  • Community ecology
Sridhar Komarneni, Ph.D.
Sridhar Komarneni, Ph.D.
  • Distinguished Professor of Clay Mineralogy


814-865-1542

Areas of Expertise

  • Materials from plants and plant by-products
  • Use of clays for remediation;Slow release fertilizers with minerals
Jesse K. Kreye, Ph.D.
Jesse K. Kreye, Ph.D.
  • Assistant Professor of Fire and Natural Resources Management


814-863-2509

Areas of Expertise

  • Fire Ecology
  • Fire Behavior and Effects
Melissa M. Kreye, Ph.D.
Melissa M. Kreye, Ph.D.
  • Assistant Professor of Forest Resource Management


814-867-1237

Areas of Expertise

  • Forest Policy and Economics
  • Social and economic values associated with private forests, wildlife and water resources
Laura P. Leites, Ph.D.
Laura P. Leites, Ph.D.
  • Associate Research Professor of Quantitative Forest Ecology


814-865-4244

Henry Lin, Ph.D.
Henry Lin, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Hydropedology/Soil Hydrology


814-865-6726

Areas of Expertise

  • Hydropedology, Soil Physics, Hydrology, Pedology
  • Critical Zone Science, Ecosystem Science, Complexity Science
  • Geospatial and Environmental Modeling, Scientific Visualization
Matt Marshall, Ph.D.
Matt Marshall, Ph.D.
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor of Wildlife Conservation
  • National Park Service
  • Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network Program Manager


814-863-0134

Marc E. McDill, Ph.D.
Marc E. McDill, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor of Forest Management


814-865-1602

Michael G. Messina, Ph.D.
Michael G. Messina, Ph.D.
  • Head and Professor, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management


814-863-7093

Areas of Expertise

  • Silviculture
  • Forest Ecology
  • Forest Soils
David A.W. Miller, Ph.D.
David A.W. Miller, Ph.D.
  • Assistant Professor of Wildlife Population Ecology


814-863-1598

Doug Miller, Ph.D.
Doug Miller, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Geography


814-863-7207

Areas of Expertise

  • remote sensing
  • GIS
  • soils
  • geomorphology
  • land change
Allyson Brownlee Muth, Ed.D.
Allyson Brownlee Muth, Ed.D.
  • Interim Director, Center for Private Forests
  • Assistant Research Professor, Private Forests Management


814-865-3208

Areas of Expertise

  • Forest stewardship
  • Private forest landowners
  • Woodland care
  • Collaborative learning
  • Action research
  • Peer-to-peer education
JeriLynn (Jeri) E. Peck, Ph.D.
JeriLynn (Jeri) E. Peck, Ph.D.
  • Research Associate
  • Forest Community and Disturbance Ecology


814-234-2898

Charles David Ray, Ph.D.
Charles David Ray, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor, Ecosystem Science and Management


814-865-0679

Areas of Expertise

  • Natural Resources Systems Analysis
  • Forest Products Economics
  • Wood Industry Operations Research
  • Wood Identification and Taxonomy
Ellen A. Rom
Ellen A. Rom
  • Coordinator of Undergraduate Programs and Alumni Relations, and Assistant Teaching Professor


814-863-0362

Sanford S. Smith, Ph.D.
Sanford S. Smith, Ph.D.
  • Teaching Professor in Forest Resources and
  • Natural Resources & Youth Extension Specialist


814-865-4261

Areas of Expertise

  • Youth and Natural Resources Education
  • Forest Stewardship
  • Natural Resources Volunteerism
  • Private Forestland Management
  • Connecting Youth with Nature
  • Forest Dendrology and Botany
Jay Stauffer, Jr., Ph.D.
Jay Stauffer, Jr., Ph.D.
  • Distinguished Professor of Ichthyology


814-863-0645

Richard Stehouwer, Ph.D.
Richard Stehouwer, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Environmental Soil Science


814-863-7640

Areas of Expertise

  • Composting and compost utilization
  • Mined land reclamation
  • Restoration of degraded soils
  • Biomass crop production
Kim Steiner, Ph.D.
Kim Steiner, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Forest Biology
  • Director of The Arboretum at Penn State


814-865-9351

Tyler Wagner, Ph.D.
Tyler Wagner, Ph.D.
  • Adjunct Professor of Fisheries Ecology
  • Assistant Unit Leader, PA Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit


814-865-6592

Areas of Expertise

  • Fisheries ecology
  • Hierarchical modeling
  • Macrosystems ecology
  • Ecological stressors
  • Species of management concern
  • Monitoring and assessment
W. David Walter, Ph.D.
W. David Walter, Ph.D.
  • Adjunct Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology
  • Assistant Unit Leader,
  • PA Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit


814-867-4763

Areas of Expertise

  • Applied Spatial Ecology
  • Disease Epidemiology
  • Stable Isotope Ecology
Jack Watson, Ph.D.
Jack Watson, Ph.D.
  • Professor of Soil Science / Soil Physics
  • Graduate Coordinator


814-863-6714

Eric K. Zenner, Ph.D.
Eric K. Zenner, Ph.D.
  • Associate Professor of Silviculture


814-865-4574

Areas of Expertise

  • Forestry
  • Silviculture
  • Forest ecology
  • Disturbance ecology