Cred PhD environmental science, University of Virginia; MS environmental science, University of Virginia; BS biology, Fairfield University

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Livelihood Professor, environmental science, College of Arts and Sciences

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Interests Biogeochemistry: how the environment shapes organism function

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Focus Conducting research on the origin and fate of organic material in Washington’s Anacostia River

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Recent Awards A U.S. Geological Survey grant for “Determination of Seasonal Source Variation of Hydrocarbons, Fatty Acids, Organics, and Nutrients in the Anacostia River”

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Last Book You Read The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner

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What Keeps You Up At Night? “There are experiments that nature is doing all the time. The challenge is figuring out what experiments she is doing. Sometimes we alter the experiment by dumping a bunch of pollution in the Anacostia or oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Then I see it as a very important part of my job to help see what nature’s doing. I feel like a detective sometimes.”

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Are You a Wonk? “I have my wonk moments. I did an interview with Fox News on fish as homeland security for Washington waterways.”

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Additional Links AU Profile
Gulf Oil Spill Spreads to Classroom
Professor Illuminates Ecosystems’ Interconnectedness
Biology Department