Department of Biology Work Phone: 330-972-5122
Department of Biology
University of Akron
Akron, Ohio, 44325-3908
Academic History:
2007- present Director of the University of Akron Field Station, Glenny Professor of Biology
2006-Present Professor of Biology, University of Akron
2001-2006 Associate Professor of Biology, University of Akron
1995-2001 Assistant Professor, University of Akron
1994-1995 University of New Mexico. Postdoc with AS Evans. Evolution of Seed Dormancy.
1991-1994 University of New Mexico. NSF Environmental Biology Postdoc with DL Marshall.
1987-1991 University of California Riverside. Ph.D. Biology with NM Waser. “Adaptive significance of floral nectar production rate for the hummingbird-pollinated plant Ipomopsis aggregata.”
1985 University of Adelaide, S. Australia. Visiting student, Zoology with DC Paton.
1983-1987 University of California Riverside. MA Biology with NM Waser. “Mechanisms of competition for pollination between two Colorado wildflowers.”
1979-1982 University of California, Davis. BS Entomology.
1978-1979 College of Sequoias, Visalia, California.
Research Interests:
Adaptive nature of floral traits; plant-animal interactions, especially plant-pollinator relationships; plant reproductive and population ecology; plant mating patterns and population genetics; evolutionary genetics; foraging behavior of nectar feeding animals; seed and germination ecology.
Awards & Fellowships:
- Editorial Board, Ecology and Ecological Monographs. 2004-
- Chair of the Ecological Society of America Plant Population Biology Section. 2004-2005, Vice-chair 2003-2004
- Member, working Group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS, Santa Barbara) to link empirical & theoretical studies of pollen limitation. 2002-4
- Intel International Science Fair Co-Chair for Environmental Science, May 2003 (Invited)
- Invited contributor to the Ecological Society of America�s Special Feature on Nectar Biology (2002)
- Favorite Faculty Award, University of Akron Residence Halls. 2002
- Outstanding Biology Teaching Assistant, UC Riverside, 1990.
- Graduate Council Fellowship UC Riverside, 198790 (University fees, stipend).
- Rotary International Fellowship 1984 (Funded 1 year of study in Australia).
Funded Research Grants:
- National Science Foundation. “Renovation of Field Station Building for Teaching and Research Use: Bath Field Station, University of Akron.” 2007-2010. $271,612
- National Science Foundation. “The evolutionary consequences of floral display size in a self-compatible plant” (Mimulus ringens). 1999-2002. $55,928 of a total grant of $316,000 with Co-PI Jeff Karron, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.
- National Science Foundation. Collaborative planning for the Woodlake Environmental and Bath Field Stations. 1999-2000. $23,864. With SC Weeks (UA), and M. Tumeo & M. Walton (Cleveland State University).
- Environmental Protection Agency “STAR” program. “Demographic and genetic factors affecting population viability of Lupinus perennis, an indicator species of Oak Savanna.” 1999-2001. $78,038 of a $289,178 total grant with Co-PI Helen Michaels, Bowling Green State University.
- Nature Conservancy Research Grant (Pitcher plant genetics) 1997 ($1867)
- University of Akron Faculty Research Grant 1996 ($6,000).
- National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Biology 1992 ($69,600).
- National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant 1990 ($3080).
- And others from agencies such as:Audubon Society, Snyder Fund, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Hardman Fund for Evolution and Conservation Study, California Native Plant Society, Southern California Botanists, Chapman Fund of the American Museum of Natural History, Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research.