The Environmental Sciences Advisory Committee consists of faculty members from the four departments contributing to the Environmental Sciences Program (Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Geographical and Sustainability Sciences). The Committee oversees curricular matters for all tracks and advises the Program Director and Academic Coordinator on a wide variety of topics related to the program.

Advisory Committee

Bradley Cramer

Bradley Cramer, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Advisory Committee Member
Associate Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences
I try to understand the major biotic, chemical, and physical events that punctuate the history of our planet by throwing every tool and proxy at the problem as is possible.
Matt Dannenberg

Matt Dannenberg, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Advisory Committee Member
Assistant Professor, Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
I study past and present global change and its impacts on Earth’s ecosystems, at scales ranging from the regional (with a focus on dryland ecosystems of the western United States) to the global. The tools I use include remote sensing, dendrochronology (the science of tree rings), and empirical/process-based modeling.
Emily Finzel

Emily Finzel, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Academic Coordinator, Environmental Sciences Program
Advisory Committee Member
Associate Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences
My research focuses on sedimentary processes in modern and ancient depositional environments. One strand of my research involves deciphering the tectonic record contained within a stratigraphic section by integrating sedimentologic analyses, geologic mapping, detrital geochronology (U-Pb and Hf isotopes), mudstone geochemistry (rare earth elements), and heavy mineral and petrographic provenance analyses. More recently, we have started investigating geochemical proxies in marginal marine environments as proxies for environmental and paleosaline conditions, which has implcations for how fast coastlines move in response to climate change. My courses include Sedimentary Geology (required for the Geoscience B.S. and Environmental Geosciences B.S. and an elective for the Environmental Hydrosciences B.S.), Geologic Field Methods (required for Geoscience B.S. and an optional field course for the Environmental Geosciences B.S.), and Geologic Field Analysis (required for Geoscience B.S.). I also team-teach two upper-level undergraduate/graduate elective courses that alternate in the spring semesters: Mineral and Petroleum Exploration and Tectonics and Basin Analysis.
Andrew Forbes

Andrew Forbes, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Program Director, Environmental Sciences Program
Advisory Committee Member
Professor, Biology
Students working in my lab study the evolution and ecology of insects. Projects can involve field work, insect behavior, taxonomy, phylogenetics, and genomics. I am always interested in having undergraduates in the lab, especially if you have an interest in evolution and/or insect diversity. Please email me if you think you may be interested in working with us.
Erin Irish

Erin Irish, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Advisory Committee Member
Associate Professor, Biology
Research in my lab focuses on addressing these questions: How is determinacy in shoot meristems achieved? What regulates the timing of determinacy? How is determinacy of the meristem related to differentiation of the shoot? How is determinacy coordinated among cells of the meristem? To address these questions, we have been examining shoot meristems during both vegetative and reproductive growth in two model species, maize and tomato. Some of our projects are outlined below.
Marc Linderman

Marc Linderman, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Advisory Committee Member
Associate Professor, Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
My research focuses on the interactions between dynamic human and natural systems. I use remote sensing and spatio-temporally explicit models to study these processes at spatial and temporal scales typically prohibitive for studies based on ground observations only. Currently, we are developing methods to better quantify the spatial arrangement and temporal dynamics of natural systems using time-series of remote sensing data and examining the interactions between socio-economic and biophysical systems that lead to these dynamics.
Maurine Neiman

Maurine Neiman, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Advisory Committee Member
Associate Professor, Biology
Our research program is relevant to scientists who use our snail study system as a model for ecotoxicology and host-parasite coevolution as well as those studying the causes and consequences of biological invasions.
Heather Sander

Heather Sander, Ph.D.

Title/Position
Advisory Committee Member
Associate Professor, Geographical and Sustainability Sciences
My research centers combines field work, GIS, and ecological modeling to explore questions related to urban ecosystems.  To this end, my research interests are highly interdisciplinary, integrating the natural and social sciences to understand human-environment interactions with a particular focus on the utilization of spatial models and analysis techniques to better understand the relationships between urban human well-being, biodiversity, ecosystem structure and function, and land use
Amy Strathman

Amy Strathman

Title/Position
Advisory Committee Member
Associate Professor of Instruction
Ben Swanson

Ben Swanson

Title/Position
Advisory Committee Member
Lecturer, Earth and Environmental Sciences
I am mostly focused on surface processes centered on rivers and streams (fluvial geomorphology).  Through academics and stream restoration positions, I have developed expertise in sediment transport, hydraulic modeling, surveying, aquatic ecology, environmental geochemistry, and Geographic Information Systems.  My current position focuses on teaching introductory courses and managing undergraduate research on plants, soils, and water (oh, my) at the Ashton Prairie Living Laboratory.
Kate Tierney

Kate Tierney

Title/Position
Advisory Committee Member
Lecturer, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Hannah Whitcomb DeHague

Hannah Whitcomb DeHague

Title/Position
Senior Academic Advisor
Advisory Committee Member