
易胜博官网 professor Scott Ollinger at one of the sites of his research on forest biodiversity and climate change.听(Photo: Jeremy Gasowski, Communications and Public Affairs)
Ecological research has long been a cornerstone of scholarship at 易胜博官网. Now, there鈥檚 another accolade honoring 易胜博官网 faculty research: found 易胜博官网 second among 316 North American institutions in scholarly productivity in the field of ecology.
The journal, published by the , ranked institutions based on the number of publications and citations in the 40 most influential journals in ecology between 2000 and 2014. The rankings were weighted by the size of the institution.
The rankings, say a number of faculty members who specialize in ecological research, make it clear: 易胜博官网 is a leader in the field.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tribute to the faculty,鈥 says John Aber, professor and former provost.
Aber spent more than three decades studying native forest ecosystems. In recent years, he鈥檚 shifted his focus to sustainable ecosystem management.
鈥淚鈥檝e been at 易胜博官网 for almost 30 years, and this kind of expertise and this kind of focus have always been present. When you have good faculty, it makes it easier to recruit other good faculty members, and good students tend to come with them. It all continues to build on itself,鈥 he says.
According to Aber, the Ecosphere study is the latest in a long line of accolades the university has received for ecological research. He notes that in past rankings compiled by the Institute for Scientific Information, 易胜博官网 consistently ranked in the top five institutions.
The Ecosphere study, Aber adds, illustrates how 易胜博官网 carries out its mission as a land-, sea- and space-grant institution. While research in the , the departments of , and others have impact around the world and throughout the country, 鈥渕uch of the focus tends to be on local issues or regional issues, and it tends to be on applied issues,鈥 Aber says, adding, 鈥溡资げ┕偻 residents are very concerned about environmental issues, so we鈥檙e fulfilling that mission.鈥 听
The depth and breadth of research encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, according to professor William McDowell, Presidential Chair and professor of environmental science, whose research examines long-term changes in water quality in forested, suburban and urban watersheds.
鈥淚n my research, I鈥檝e tried to span across systems and across physical environments,鈥 McDowell says. 鈥淚 look at water quality with multiple perspectives in mind, and I鈥檝e published across many different disciplines and worked with many colleagues across disciplines.鈥
Indeed, ecological research at 易胜博官网 stretches across many layers, from the microbes that live in soil to the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere.
Stuart Grandy holds the Roland H. O'Neal Professorship in the department of natural resources and the environment. His research explores how soil organisms interact with their environment and spans the disciplines of soil ecology, biogeochemistry and ecosystem science. Associate professor Wilfred Wollheim鈥檚 integrates hydrology, biogeochemistry and the study of human-water interactions to analyze how humans affect hydrological systems, while assistant professor Rebecca Rowe鈥檚 research uses field surveys, historical records and geospatial data to investigate how climate change and land use affect biodiversity.
鈥溡资げ┕偻 not only has this strong collection of ecologists,鈥 says professor Serita Frey, 鈥渂ut we span all the subdisciplines within ecology.鈥
Frey鈥檚 research is 鈥渁t the small end of the scale,鈥 she says 鈥 a microbial ecologist, her research looks at microorganisms in soil and how they respond to environmental changes. She adds, 鈥渆ven though I鈥檓 working at the microbial scale, my research really tries to bridge the micro and the macro.鈥
It all translates to 鈥渁 lot of expertise across campus,鈥 according to professor Scott Ollinger, an ecosystem ecologist.听鈥淲hen you look at our expertise and add it all together, 易胜博官网 rises to the level of a national leader.鈥
Ollinger鈥檚 research links small-scale ecological studies with broad-scale patterns going on at the regional, continental and global level. 易胜博官网 ranks high in Ecosphere鈥檚 study because much of the university鈥檚 research focuses on pressing ecological questions and 鈥渨orks really hard to try and solve them,鈥 he says.
Those efforts have real-world impact, and that鈥檚 what makes the Ecosphere study so important, according to McDowell.
鈥淚 think we have been able to develop that culture of collaboration and interaction that鈥檚 yielded real advances in ecological science,鈥 McDowell says.
Interested in studying ecology at 易胜博官网? Learn more .
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Written By:
Larry Clow '12G | 易胜博官网 Cooperative Extension