I'm an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Huxley College at Western Washington University. I apply the principles of science and engineering to a broad range of topics that include belowground ecology, toxicology, restoration, energy, and perhaps most importantly, the elegant application of statistics.

Diverse native plant community.
(Bitterroot Valley, Montana)

 

Research

I'm interested in how the belowground environment affects individual plants and structures plant communities. These principles can be applied broadly to improve practices in the remediation and restoration of both anthropogenically and naturally disturbed systems as well as predict the response of plant communities to future changes. My work focuses on mycorrhizae, an ancient plant-fungal symbiosis in which the plant provides the fungus with carbon and the fungus provides the host plant with a suite of potential benefits, the most common being increased nutrient acquisition. I'm exploring the interactions between ectomycorrhizae and arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) in recruitment and establishment of forest seedlings, the role of AM in plant invasions, and the effects of AM on host plants across stress gradients of pH and temperature. For more about my research and lab group, please click here.

Fungal storage structures in plant roots

Teaching

I'm teaching Contaminant Movement in the Environment (ESCI 460) in Winter Quarter 2012. This is an advanced "Fate and Transport" course that emphasizes the use of quantitative problem solving skills in determining the phases a contaminant may partition into, how quickly it may move through the environment, how it might degrade, and what form it may ultimately persist in. In Spring 2012, I'm teaching Applications in Energy Production (ESCI 480). In this field-based class we will visit conventional and alternative energy facilities and learn how energy is produced and delivered to consumers. We will pay particular attention to the basic physics, chemistry and biology of energy systems as well as their impacts on the environment.