Global Change 1
Instructors
updated 08/31/2009
Faculty
 

Catherine Badgley

Professor Catherine Badgley is an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She studies the ecology of fossil mammals and has conducted paleontological field work in Pakistan, China, Kenya and the western United States. Her research also includes studies of modern mammal biogeography. A long-standing interest in the modern biodiversity crisis led her to study the impacts of agriculture on biodiversity and then to evaluate alternative scenarios to the current food system. She is the immediate Past President of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, an international scientific organization.  

George Kling
Lead Faculty GC1

Professor George Kling is interested in how elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur move through the environment. This research requires study at the scale of the ecosystem, and encompasses physical transport phenomena, geochemical reactions, and the role of organisms in element storage and transformation. It is these phenomena that underlie our understanding of the broad environmental problems of acid rain, eutrophication, species introductions, and climate change. The general goal of his research is to better understand what controls important ecosystem functions, and how various controls relate to the major environmental problems of our world.

Kyger C. Lohmann

Professor Kyger Lohmann is a geologist in the Department of Geological Sciences. His principal area of specialization is carbonate geochemistry, which utilizes the chemistry and fabric of carbonate minerals to reconstruct the conditions present in ancient environments and serves as an important proxy for deciphering Earth's history. Studies undertaken in his program have developed new analytical methodologies and interpretive approaches which have been applied to several areas of exciting research in the earth sciences. The objective of these studies is to provide constraints on the directions and magnitudes of change and the rates at which these have occurred in the past.

Ben van der Pluijm

Professor Ben van der Pluijm, a geologist, studies the deformation of rocks and minerals on all scales.  He joined the University of Michigan in 1985, where he has been ever since.  His interests range from materials on the (electron) microscopic scale to the evolution of mountain ranges.  The latter record the collisional history of continents when plates collide.  His research has taken him to Asia, Europe, South America and North America.  He recently completed a long term as chief editor of the leading journal in the earth sciences (GEOLOGY), and serves on several editorial boards and (too many) committees.  He enjoys "toys" and popular culture, although not sufficiently popular to his children.
Email Ben for GC1 information: globalchange@umich.edu
 

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