Students
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Stephen Aldrich Department: Geography E-mail: aldric30@msu.edu |
Tentative Dissertation Title: Largeholder Deforestation and Land Conflict in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon
Research and Teaching Interests: I am currently working on my dissertation project which focuses on a new driver of deforestation encouraged by land conflict in the Brazilian Amazon. Specifically, I am investigating the environmental decision-making processes through which large landholders decide to deforest their properties when faced with the threat of land occupation by increasingly strong social movements. This work makes use of remote sensing techniques, other geospatial technologies, and spatial analysis to uncover these trends. My other interests also include development theory, issues of conflict and globalization, and land tenure. I am currently teaching a course on the Regional Geography of Latin America and the Caribbean in which I focus on environmental themes such as biodiversity loss, natural hazards, and agricultural change.
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David Bidwell Department: Sociology E-mail: bidwell2@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic: Social Psychology and Deliberative Decision Making
Research and Teaching Interests: My research interests revolve around environmental decision-making, with a particular interest in processes that involve "non-experts." Other research interests include the goals of public participation practitioners, climate change adaptation and public opinion, social and political roots of environmental conflict, and upstream engagement in science. I hold a MS in Natural Resource Policy from the University of Michigan and have worked as a professional facilitator and public participation consultant.
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Victoria Campbell-Arvai Department: CARRS (Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies) E-mail: campb575@msu.edu |
Tentative Dissertation Title: TBA
Research and Teaching Interests: I am generally interested in how modern industrial agriculture has all but severed our connections to the food we eat, eliminating the imperative to consider, and take responsibility for, the broader environmental and ethical implications of these practices. More specifically, recent reports from the FAO and IPCC have drawn our attention to the negative environmental impacts of modern large-scale livestock production practices, particularly with respect to contributions to climate change, deforestation, and the degradation of water quality. As industrial animal agriculture attempts to address these environmental and ethical challenges, I am interested in how these efforts are being represented to the public as well as how they are contributing to the continued hegemony of this form of agriculture. However, with alternatives to intensive animal agriculture and the meat-centered diet growing in acceptance and availability, how might we begin to redefine our relationship -as individuals and as a society- with the food that we eat?
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Micaleila Dell Desotelle Department: Zoology E-mail: desotell@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic or Title: The effects of impoundments of river food webs
Research and Teaching Interests: I am studying the effects of impoundments on the Kalamazoo River. Small impoundments are common on medium sized US rivers, and they are important because they slow the river current so that phytoplankton have time to grow and reproduce. Stream filter-feeding insects and mussels frequently increase in abundance below reservoirs and are likely to be consuming the phytoplankton produced by the reservoirs. The phytoplankton may be providing additional energy for the food web as it is transferred to higher trophic levels. I wish to understand how reservoirs impact energy flow in river food webs downstream of the dams.
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Benjamin M. Gramig Department: Agricultural Economics E-mail: gramigbe@msu.edu Web site: http://www.msu.edu/user/gramigbe |
Tentative Dissertation Title: Essays on the Economics of Livestock Disease Management: On-farm Biosecurity Adoption, Asymmetric Information in Policy Design, and Decentralized Bioeconomic Dynamics
Research and Teaching Interests: Ben's research interests are motivated by public policy and include the economics of information, decision making under uncertainty, and the role of human activity in environmental change. His current research seeks to integrate models of biophysical or environmental processes with economic choices to better understand complex systems. The role of property rights and institutional structure in natural resource management and environmental regulation are topics of ongoing interest.
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Matt Grisko Department: Philosophy E-mail: griskoma@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic: TBA
Research and Teaching Interests: My research interest is in environmental philosophy, particularly the intersection between environmental science, policy, and ethics. More specifically I am interested in the question of how we should live with the non-human world; what our relationship with nature should be and how we can best bring about that relationship. As part of addressing this overarching question, I am examining the conceptual and normative aspects of various practices and ideas important to environmental conservation and restoration and the relationship between science and advocacy, particularly as regards the 'conservation' sciences like conservation genetics and conservation biology.
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Richard Grogan Department: Media & Information Studies E-mail: groganri@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic: TBA
Research and Teaching Interests: Richard is a second year PhD student in the Media & Information Studies program within the College of Communication Arts & Sciences. His primary research interests are: (1) How people get environmental information, and (2) Media representations of environmental issues. Currently, he is working on a project that examines how ‘solutions’ to global warming are presented in US newspaper coverage of the topic. Next semester Richard will be continuing research on how service station owners get their information about alternative fuels, and other bio-economy topics. He expects to expand the platform he has set up regarding media representations of environmental issues to issues other than global warming. In particular, how local environmental issues are presented. He hopes that the ESPP program will help him learn about the science of the environment; and he hopes to be able to apply his knowledge of policy to the program’s framework. Richard has a Master of Public Administration from University of North Carolina.
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Kim Hiller Connell Department: Human Environment and Design E-mail: hillerki@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic or Title: My dissertation topic is still a work in progress but it will be related to environmental issues within the apparel and textiles industry. More than likely I will be studying the decision making process of consumers as they purchase clothing. I want a better understanding of why consumers purchase clothing and how consumers decide to purchase certain types of clothing or clothing from certain types of retail outlets. The ultimate goal for this research would be to contribute towards policy making that encourages more socially and environmentally responsible apparel consumption.
Research and Teaching Interests: My research interests are related to sustainable development within the apparel and textiles industry. Current, mainstream practices within the apparel and textiles industry are socially and environmentally unsustainable and my research is concerned with making this industry more sustainable. Within these parameters, I am interested in a wide range of topics -indicators for measuring sustainability, the role of cooperatives in sustainability, sustainable apparel design, socially responsible consumption, fair trade, labor issues, and ecological decision making. Here at Michigan State University I teach a variety of undergraduate classes within the area of apparel and textiles and I am also very interested in researching and developing teaching methods that enables apparel and textile design students to be agents of change upon graduation.
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Marcia JnBaptiste Department: Crop and Soil Sciences E-mail: jnbaptis@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic: The effect of gypsum, compost, and cover crops on soil quality, nutrient availability, crop quality and yield.
Research and Teaching Interests: Marcia LaCorbiniere-JnBaptiste is a PhD candidate in the department of Crop and Soil Sciences, with her research focused on sustainable crop production. She is evaluating the impact of various soil amendments on nutrient availability, soil quality, and crop quality and yield. Additionally, Marcia recently completed the ESP doctoral specialization program (ESPP) here at MSU. Her desire is to get involved with interdisciplinary research and some teaching/mentoring. She graduated with honors (BS) from Alabama Agriculture and Mechanical University (A&M), with dual degrees in Environmental Science and Crop Science, (1998); obtained MS degree from Iowa State University (2002) in Soil Science, where she formulated organic fertilizers.
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Jason Karl Department: Fisheries and Wildlife E-mail: karljaso@msu.edu Website: http://www.msu.edu/~karljaso/ |
Dissertation Title: Developing a Multi-scale Assessment and Monitoring Framework for Rangeland Landscapes.
Research and Teaching Interests: My research and experiences are varied; however, they all fall under the umbrella of spatial ecology. I am most intrigued by how and why ecological elements and processes are arrayed in space and time. My primary interest is bringing theories of spatial and landscape ecology to bear in practical applications for conservation of the earth's biological diversity. The implications of spatial and temporal scaling to biodiversity conservation are at the heart of my research and conservation projects. Many of my projects have shown that social, political, and economic features and processes are scale dependent as well, having practical implications for effective conservation work. How different aspects of social science can be integrated with the biophysical sciences across scales to result in greater conservation effectiveness is of great interest to me.
My fundamental hypothesis is that metrics and information needs for determining rangeland condition will vary depending on the scale of observation. A successful strategy for multi-scale assessment will capitalize on strengths and account for weaknesses of many different methods. My goal is to integrate a wide range of existing methods into a robust system for measuring and monitoring rangeland condition that results in better predictions of condition across large areas and increased efficiencies in on-the-ground efforts. A multi-scale assessment framework will allow different methods/techniques to be placed into a context of where they can be most useful for understanding how data on rangeland condition changes across scales.
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Nicole E. Lamp Department: Fisheries and Wildlife E-mail: lampnico@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic or Title: Evaluating the evolution, implementation and effectiveness of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's conservation approaches.
Research and Teaching Interests: My research interests revolve around endangered species management and conservation as well as the role of science in policy-making. My field research experiences have primarily focused on threatened and endangered avian species such as the common tern and the Great Lakes piping plover. In addition to my academic pursuits, I am employed as a wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) East Lansing Field Office through their Student Career Experience Program. My work at the Service with endangered species recovery planning and implementation catalyzed my interest in the Endangered Species Act, the interplay of science and conservation policy, and the evolution and effectiveness of this federal agency. My research will explore how the history of the Service has affected the evolution and implementation of its conservation approaches and policies as well as compare its ecosystem approach of the 1990s to an emerging landscape-level approach to conservation. Finally, I am working with two other graduate students in my department (Rebecca Christoffel and Ali Felix) in developing a new two-week field intensive course for undergraduates in natural resource and natural science majors. The main goals of this course are to provide undergraduates with experience in using terrestrial and aquatic field techniques, introduce them to natural resource issues in Michigan, and provide opportunities to interact with natural resources professionals. Another major goal of this course is to provide graduate students with experience developing and teaching their own course (under advisement of faculty co-PIs).
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Elizabeth Mauritz Department: Philosophy E-mail: mauritze@msu.edu |
Dissertation Title: Are There Moral Foundations to Support Claims of Moral Economy?
Research and Teaching Interests: I am exploring the way moral, social, and political norms impact our conceptions of our relationship with the environment and interactions with each other. Ecological restoration, environmental justice, and development ethics are of particular interest. I also am interested in the relationship rural and agrarian peoples throughout the world have with the land through farming and other land use practices. Recently I have been involved with workshops and teaching that deals with the ethical implications of biotechnology, especially genetically engineered crops and cloned food animals. Philosophy of science interests include notions of objectivity and subjectivity as well as the social organization of scientists in a scientific community. Moreover, I am concerned with assumptions about what values and goals scientists should have when pursuing research. Recent additions to my research include biomedical ethics and research ethics.
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Zarraz May-Ping Lee Department: Microbiology and Molecular Genetics E-mail: leezarra@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic: Bacterial Growth Efficiency (BGE) of bacterial community in soil and factors that influence BGE.
Research and Teaching Interests: My research focuses on the efficiency of bacteria at converting organic carbon substrate into biomass, also known as bacterial growth efficiency (BGE). I am currently investigating the BGE of bacterial communities from soil with different land management, at the Kellogg Biological Station LTER site. I am interested in determining various factors that could change BGE, especially factors that are implied from the change of land usage from forest into conventional agriculture. Besides environmental factors, I will also be comparing the bacterial community from these soils to determine if the BGE of the community can be influenced by the structure of the bacterial community. At the same time, I am also looking at some intrinsic factors of individual bacterial species that can affect BGE, such as translational efficiency (the capability of bacteria to produce protein from a certain amount of ATP) and its ribosomal RNA encoding gene copy number.
The significance of this research is to help understand the impact of environmental conditions on the capability of bacteria to be more efficient at conserving carbon; by converting carbon substrate into biomass rather than CO2. Additionally, understanding BGE of bacterial community from soil will contribute to understanding the physiological state of the community in soil.
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Colleen McLean
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Dissertation Topic: Evaluating environmental response and recovery using an integrated paleolimnological approach.
Research and Teaching Interests: My current research focuses on assessing environmental recovery in aquatic ecosystems by evaluating the rate and trajectory of physical, chemical and biological change archived in lacustrine sediment. Investigating environmental change with this multiproxy approach lends insight to the roles of both natural and anthropogenic stressors influencing dynamic ecological regimes. Moreover, untangling the complexities of various timescales and intensities requires a better understanding of the relationships among paleoecological indicators, and are aspects of ongoing research activities.
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Max Melstrom Department: Economics and Agricultural Economics E-mail: melstrom@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic: TBA
Research and Teaching Interests: Max's focus is on how environmental regulations interact with economic activity and why problems occur in making the two work together. Contrary to what some believe, “what is good for the environment is also good for the economy” he says.
He is also interested in researching the level of demand for environmental preservation and recreational resources, and how we should model different forms of valuation, such as recreational value and intrinsic value. “Different approaches to modeling this demand can therefore have a significant influence on how we assess the value of natural resources,” he says.
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Stephanie Miller Department: Zoology E-mail: mill1571@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic: Nutrient-mediated relationships between algae and heterotrophic bacteria: implications for Mycobacterium ulcerans and other bacterial pathogens.
Research and Teaching Interests: My research addresses how anthropogenic alterations of the environment affect biotic communities and ecosystems. I am especially interested in understanding how environmental change affects the dynamics of pathogenic bacteria in aquatic environments. Much of my dissertation research focuses on Buruli ulcer, an emergent necrotic skin disease caused by the environmental pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans. My other research interests include stream restoration,using diatoms as bioindicators, and identifying broad scale patterns in relationships between heterotrophic microbes and primary producers.
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Emily Norton Department: Fisheries & Wildlife E-mail: nortone1@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic: The effects of lake shoreline development on painted turtle nest site selection and reproductive success.
Research and Teaching Interests:
First year graduate student and ESPP fellowship recipient Emily Norton is interested in how human activity affects lake ecosystems, shorelines and the wildlife that inhabit them.
Currently, Norton is working on an economics project relating lakes’ water clarity (a measure of water quality) to the value of surrounding residential properties, in the Lower Peninsula. She is studying 20 counties, over 100 lakes, and over 1400 properties, and expects to conclude the project this summer. Previous studies have found water clarity and housing prices to be positively correlated. She hopes that her results will build on past studies and help inform decisions on water quality regulation in Michigan, by demonstrating the value of water clarity through housing prices.
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Linda Novitski Department: Zoology E-mail: lindanovitski@gmail.com |
Dissertation Topic: Microcystis in the Ohio River, analyzing population dynamics of an algal taxon with toxin-forming potential.
Research and Teaching Interests: Linda studies the specific ecological conditions that promote algal blooms along the Ohio River and some of its tributaries. Algal blooms can cause decreased oxygen levels and produce toxins, both of which can cause death in other aquatic organisms or humans who ingest the toxins. In addition, she plans to do a survey, in collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency, to see how pervasive Microcystis (a type of algae) is in other Midwestern rivers. An end result of her study will be a model that can predict which ecological factors, such as high nutrients, have the biggest influence in driving algal blooms. She expects these results will have implications on human usage. For example, it would help determine if high nutrients coming from agriculture or wastewater treatment plants are a driving factor for algal blooms, or if low flow due to water retention or diversion (as there are many dams in the Ohio River) is a major influence.
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Sara Parr Syswerda Department: Crop and Soil Sciences and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program E-mail: parrsar1@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic or Title: Ecosystem Services from Agroecosystems
Research and Teaching Interests: The majority of my research focuses on quantifying the ecosystem services from agricultural systems and analyzing the trade-offs between ecosystem services and economic incentives for farmers. I am interested in the partitioning of nitrogen losses in agricultural systems, particularly between gaseous losses and nitrate leaching losses. I am also interested in the interaction between carbon sequestration in agricultural soils and the subsequent changes in nitrogen cycling within these systems. These environmental changes lead to changes in yield as well as profitability, and examining trade-offs between profitability and ecosystem services may help inform which changes farmers might be more willing to undertake.
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Rachael Shwom Department: Sociology E-mail: shwomrac@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic or Title: Environmental Values and Changing Corporate Practices
Research and Teaching Interests: I currently hold a graduate research assistantship working on a mail and web survey with Dr. Tom Dietz and Dr. Amy Dan on climate change attitudes and policy preferences and the effects of deliberation. I have also taught Sociology of Work and am an Environmental Science and Policy Fellow. My research interests center around the role of individual, organization and societal environmental values and agency in institutional/ organizational change. I am also interested in globalization and its effects on environmental policy; or more specifically, how the new global order affects energy production and consumption, its management, public participation in global resource policy-making, and the design, conduct and communication of environmental science.
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Mamta Vardhan Department: CARRS (Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies) E-mail: vardhanm@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic: TBA
Research and Teaching Interests: Mamta is a doctoral student in the department of CARRS and is studying international development, gender and environmental change. Mamta's research interests lie in exploring the gender, equity implications and institutional dynamics of community participation in natural resource management initiatives in India and Kenya.
She has worked with the World Agroforestry Center and undertook field research on the process of community involvement and gender in water management and its impact on water use and availability, in Lake Victoria watershed, in western Kenya. Before coming to graduate school, Mamta worked for seven years as a program coordinator in a grass-roots level non-profit organization in western India. She worked on issues interfacing local environment management and livelihood development of indigenous communities. Her previous academic qualifications include a Masters degree in forestry management and a Bachelors degree in Science.
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Pariwate Varnakovida Department: Geography E-mail: varnakov@msu.edu |
Dissertation Topic or Title: Urban Modeling and Landscape Prediction: The Case Study of Nangrong, Thailand.
Research and Teaching Interests: I have a focused ongoing program of research investigating the concept of sustainable urban development and environmental and resources management. My research interests also include urban and environmental modeling, urban forms, environmental impact assessment, sustainable urban development and urban and natural resources management, as well as using GIS, Remote Sensing, and Cellular Aotomata as tools. Several of my research were presented such as 1) Urban Modeling and Landscape Prediction: The Case Study of Nangrong, Thailand, 2)Simulation of Lake Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sediment Levels Based on Land Use/Land Cover Type and Pattern, 3) Critical Thresholds and Sensitivity Dynamics of Percolation, 4)Evaluating Michigan's community hospital access: spatial methods for decision support, 5) Exploring the Social Dynamics of Accessibility, Travel Behavior, and Physical Activity by Income/Race, Age and Gender: An Inner-City/Suburb Comparison in the Detroit Region.
