Program Faculty

Climate Adaptation Science Faculty is pulled from 10 different departments and have a wide variety of backgrounds. Get to know our faculty and leadership on this page.

CAS Program Leadership Team

These faculty co-deliver the CAS program courses and oversee program development. 

Geno Schupp
Geno Schupp
CAS Associate Director | Ecology Center
Plant Population Ecology, Restoration Ecology, Rare & Invasive Plants
eugene.schupp@usu.edu

Nancy Huntly
Nancy Huntly
Emeritus Faculty
Biodiversity, Herbivory, & Long-term Human Ecology
nancy.huntly@usu.edu

Thaddeus (Thad) Nicholls
Thad Nicholls
Ecology Center Program Coordinator
thad.nicholls@usu.edu

Abby Bushman
Abby Bushman
Program Assistant SR
abby.bushman@usu.edu 

Peter Howe
Peter Howe
Environment & Society
Human-Environment Geography: Climate, Hazards, and People
peter.howe@usu.edu

Anna Miller
Anna Miller
Environment & Society
Human-Environment Interactions, Human-Wildlife Interactions, Visitor Use & Impact Management, Climate Change Adaptation, and Outdoor Recreation & Tourism
anna.miller@usu.edu

Andre De Lima Moraes
Andre De Lima Moraes
Watershed Sciences
Soil & Water Management, Conservation, and Climate Data Analysis
andre.moraes@usu.edu

Wei Zhang
Wei Zhang
Plants, Soils, & Climate | Ecology Center
Drought/Flood, Precipitation, Hurricanes, Climate Modeling, Climate Dynamics, and Climate Change
w.zhang@usu.edu

Yong Zhou
Yong Zhou
Wildland Resources
Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Ecology
yong.zhou@usu.edu

 

 

 

 

Faculty

 

Peter Adler
Peter Adler
Wildland Resources | Director of Ecology Center
Plant population, community ecology, coexistence & patterns of diversity, climate change impacts on plant populations & communities, and plant-animal interaction
peter.adler@usu.edu

Trisha Atwood
Trisha Atwood
Watershed Sciences | Ecology Center
Effects of global change on aquatic food webs & species interactions, ecosystem function, and aquatic ecosystem's effect on climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation
trisha.atwood@usu.edu 

Karen Beard
Karen Beard
Wildland Resources | Ecology Center
Species interaction & subsequent impacts on ecosystem processes
karen.beard@usu.edu

Kristy Bloxham
Kristy Bloxham
Instructional Technology & Learning Sciences
Industry experience, e-learning, and project management
kristy.bloxham@usu.edu

Noelle Beckman
Noelle Beckman
Biology | Ecology Center
Theoretical & spatial plant ecology, plant/animal/microbe interactions, and seed dispersal
noelle.beckman@usu.edu 

Janice Brahney
Janice Brahney
Watershed Sciences
Biogeochemistry, paleolimnology, anthropogenic controls on nutrient cycles, climate impacts on freshwater ecosystems, and applications of geochemistry to aquatic ecology
janice.brahney@usu.edu 

Roslynn Brain McCann
Roslynn Brain McCann
Environment & Society
Fostering environmental behavior, sustainable communities, behavioral theory, communication & social marketing techniques
roslynn.brain@usu.edu

Phaedra Budy
Phaedra Budy
Watershed Sciences
Management of aquatic natural resources, fisheries management, and aquatic ecology
phaedra.budy@usu.edu

Kyra Clark-Wolf
Kyra Clark-Wolf
Wildland Resources
Paleoecology, Fire Ecology, Forest Ecosystems, Climate Change, and Climate Adaptation
kyra.clark-wolf@usu.edu

TJ Clark-Wolf
TJ Clark-Wolf
Wildland Resources
Population Ecology, Community Ecology, and Conservation Biology
t.j.clark-wolf@usu.edu

Rob Davies
Rob Davies
Physics | Ecology Center
Communicating planetary boundaries, the anthropocene, and complex & sustainable systems
robert.davies@usu.edu

Justin DeRose
Justin DeRose
Wildland Resources
Silviculture, forest ecology, dendrochronology, and forestry
justin.derose@usu.edu

.

Susannah French
Susannah French
Biology | Ecology Center
Physiological ecology, life history trade-offs, immunity, and conservation
susannah.french@usu.edu

Jennifer Givens
Jennifer Givens
Sociology, Social Work, & Anthropology
Environmental, global, & comparative sociology; political economy & development
jennifer.givens@usu.edu

Zach Gompert
Zach Gompert
Biology
Genetic architecture of ecologically important traits, determinants of genetic variation & molecular evolution in natural populations, and the nature & evolution of species boundaries & barriers to gene flow
zachariah.gompert@usu.edu

Edd Hammill
Edd Hammill
Watershed Sciences | Ecology Center
Conservation planning, land management
edd.hammill@usu.edu

Charles (Chuck) Hawkins
Charles (Chuck) Hawkins
Watershed Sciences | Ecology Center
Aquatic ecology, freshwater biodiversity, and environmental assessment
chuck.hawkins@usu.edu

Larry Hipps
Larry Hipps
Plants, Soils, & Climate
Meteorology/climatology, and land-atmosphere interactions
Lawrence.Hipps@usu.edu

Daniella Hirschfeld
Daniella Hirschfeld
Landscape Architecture & Environmental Planning
Community resilience, landscape strategies for climate adaptation, and disaster mitigation & planning
daniella.hirschfeld@usu.edu

Jeffery S. Horsburgh
Jeffery S. Horsburgh
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Hydroinformatics, surface water quality, and hydrology
jeff.horsburgh@usu.edu

Scott Hotaling
Scott Hotaling
Watershed Sciences
Biodiversity, population genetics, conservation biology, ecology & evolution, species diversity, evolution, conservation, ecosystem ecology, taxonomy, and climate change
scott.hotaling@usu.edu

Scott Jones
Scott Jones
Plants, Soils, & Climate
Evaporation from porous media, microgravity effects of water supply to plant roots, porous media greenhouse gas emissions, soil water & nutrient flow, and sensor development for soil property measurement & monitoring
scott.jones@usu.edu

Karin Kettenring
Karin Kettenring
Watershed Sciences | Ecology Center
Wetland plant ecology, restoration, and management
karin.kettenring@usu.edu

Man-Keun Kim
Man-Keun Kim
Applied Economics
Regional economics, and resource & environmental economics
mk.kim@usu.edu

Andrew Kulmatiski
Andrew Kulmatiski
Wildland Resources | Ecology Center
Plant-soil interactions
andrew.kulmatiski@usu.edu

Belize Lane
Belize Lane
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Surface hydrology, geomorphology, and water resources management
belize.lane@usu.edu

Man Li
Man Li
Applied Economics
Land-use based sustainable development, water resource management, rural migration, and climate change mitigation & adaptation
man.li@usu.edu 

Lisa Lundgren
Lisa Lundgren
Instructional Technology & Learning Services
How people learn about science topics in various contexts, including social media, schools, museums, and comic-cons
lisa.lundgren@usu.edu

Daniel MacNulty
Daniel MacNulty
Wildland Resources 
Animal behavior, population biology, predator-prey interactions, large mammal conservation & management
dan.macnulty@usu.edu

Marc Mayes
Marc Mayes
Watershed Sciences | SIG-NAL Laboratory
Geology, biogeochemistry, hydrology, ecology, remote sensing, vegetation community productivity, water/nutrient use, local-based ecosystem monitoring, wildfire hazard mitigation, and technology training & outreach
m.mayes@usu.edu

Kezia Manlove
Kezia Manlove
Wildland Resources | Ecology Center
Diseases/Pathogens, Behavior Ecology, Conservation Ecology, Statistical Ecology, Wildlife Ecology, Ecology/Landscape, Population Biology, and Livestock & Wildlife Interactions

Christopher Monz
Christopher Monz
Environment & Society
Recreation ecology, park & protected area management
chris.monz@usu.edu 

Beth Neilson
Beth Neilson
Civil & Environmental Engineering | Utah Water Research Laboratory
Quantifying groundwater/surface water interactions, associated influences on instream water quality, and temperature regimes
bethany.neilson@usu.edu

Brooke Osborne
Brooke Osborne
Environment & Society
Ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry, soil science, microbial ecology, toxicology, and dryland & tropical forest ecosystems
brooke.osborne@usu.edu

Joel Pederson
Joel Pederson
Geosciences
Geomorphology, landscape evolution of the interior Western US
joel.pederson@usu.edu

Richard Peralta
Richard Peralta
Civil & Environmental Engineering | Utah Water Research Laboratory
Groundwater management & systems analysis
peralta.rc@gmail.com 

James Powell
James Powell
Mathematics | Biology
Modeling, mathematical ecology, model competition, dispersal & spatial structure in populations
jim.powell@usu.edu

Claudia Radel
Claudia Radel
Environment & Society
Human-environment geography, political ecology, migration, and gender
claudia.radel@usu.edu

Tammy Rittenour
Tammy Rittenour
Geosciences
Geomorphology, luminescence dating, quaternary geology, paleoclimate
tammy.rittenour@usu.edu

Moria Robinson
Moria Robinson
Biology | Ecology Center
Plant-insect interactions, food web ecology, abiotic factors shaping plant-herbivore assemblages, native Lepidoptera (butterflies & moths)
moria.robinson@usu.edu 

David Rosenburg
David Rosenburg
Civil & Environmental Engineering | Utah Water Research Laboratory
Water resources management, systems analysis, water conservation & planning
david.rosenberg@usu.edu

Carl Rothfels
Carl Rothfels
Biology | Ecology Center
Phylogenetics theory and practice, plant systematics, reticulate evolution, fern biology, polyploid
carl.rothfels@usu.edu

Cathy Rushworth
Cathy Rushworth
Biology
Plant evolutionary ecology, evolutionary & ecological genetics, speciation, plant reproduction
cathy.rushworth@usu.edu

Stacia Ryder
Stacia Ryder
Sociology
Environmental Sociology, Environmental Justice, and Sociology of Disasters
stacia.ryder@usu.edu

Norah Saarman
Norah Saarman
Biology | Ecology Center
Evolutionary ecology, population genomics, computational biology evolution
norah.saarman@usu.edu

Robert Schaeffer
Robert Schaeffer
Biology
Cross-kingdom interactions between plants, insects, and microbes
robert.schaeffer@usu.edu

Ramy Shaaban
Ramy Shaaban
Instructional Technology & Learning Sciences
Exploring the impact of emerging technologies on learning in the educational field, game-based learning, scaffolding & collaborative learning
ramy.shaaban@usu.edu

Jordan Smith
Jordan Smith
Environment & Society | IORT
Outdoor recreation, natural resource economics
jordan.smith@usu.edu

David Stevens
David Stevens
Civil & Environmental Engineering | Utah Water Research Laboratory
Surface assessment, mathematical modeling, and statistics
david.stevens@usu.edu

David Tarboton
David Tarboton
Civil & Environmental Engineering | Utah Water Research Laboratory
Surface water, information systems, modeling terrain analysis, and snow hydrology
dtarb@usu.edu

Alfonso Torres-Rua
Alfonso Torres-Rua
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Using ground, UAVs, and satellite combined technologies and data to validate, harmonize, and enhance agricultural information
alfonso.torres@usu.edu

Kari Veblen
Kari Veblen
Wildland Resources | Ecology Center
Plant community ecology, plant-herbivore interactions, livestock-wild ungulate interactions, and restoration ecology
kari.veblen@usu.edu

Kirsten Vinyeta
Kirsten Vinyeta
Sociology
Environmental sociology, federal land management, climate change, indigenous land stewardship, and political dimensions of wildfire management
kirsten.vinyeta@usu.edu

Sara Weinstein
Sara Weinstein
Biology | Ecology Center
Evolution of host-symbiont associations, parasite infection impacts, and disease dynamic change in human altered-landscape
sara.weinstein@usu.edu

Joe Wheaton
Joe Wheaton
Watershed Sciences | Ecology Center
Fluvial geomorphology, biogeomorphology, watershed management, and beaver ecology
joe.wheaton@usu.edu

Peter Wilcock
Peter Wilcock
Watershed Sciences
Erosion & sedimentation, watershed restoration & management
wilcock@usu.edu

Steven Wilcox
Steven Wilcox
APEC | Ecology Center
Natural Resources, Agriculture, Food Systems, Humanity's Relationship with Resources and Systems. 
steven.wilcox@usu.edu

Larissa Yocom
Larissa Yocom
Wildland Resources
How forests, fires, climate, and people interact over time and space
larissa.yocom@usu.edu

Matt Yost
Matt Yost
Plants, Soils, & Climate
Agroclimate, water optimization, precision agriculture, and soil health
matt.yost@usu.edu

Julie Young
Julie Young
Wildland Resources | Ecology Center
Behavior, ecology, and management of mammals
julie.young@usu.edu