Bio coming soon!

Kefyn M. Catley Ph.D is an Assistant Professor of Science Education, Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University with responsibility for biology education.  His interests revolve around educational applications of biodiversity science and evolutionary biology.  He was awarded a Ph.D. in Arthropod Systematics from Cornell University where for his dissertation he researched the biodiversity and evolutionary biology of a group of Chilean spiders.  He has worked as a Research Scientist at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) studying the evolutionary biology of spiders, traveling extensively in temperate South America, Australia, Europe, and throughout North America.  The author of numerous scientific papers and popular articles, he frequently gives presentations of various aspects of the natural world.

While a researcher at the Museum, he was appointed Staff Scientist for Biodiversity, National Center for Science Literacy, Education and Technology and worked extensively with K-12 teachers as part of the AMNH education outreach and teacher professional development program.  As part of this initiative he served as principal scientist on the team which developed "Biodiversity Counts", an initiative middle school online curriculum current implemented in schools across the nation.

Biodiversity Counts Homepage

Building on his interest of using technology for learning, his work was featured on a Discovery Channel Online month-long live satellite link-up, during a AMNH research expedition to Australia in 1997.

Discovery Channel Online Spiders Page

Cross discipline research projects and ways of bringing this approach into the classroom is another interest, as evidenced by his recent presentation to NASA scientists on what nature can teach us when designing the next generation of spacecraft.

http://gossamer.jpl.nasa.gov/Presentations/presentations.html

His research at Rutgers is focused on trying to understand aspects of the learning process and ways of constructing knowledge.  In particular, comparative knowledge structures and identifying critical junctures in learning.  Additionally, science teachers are being asked to teach inquiry-based science but most have little or no experience of every doing "real" science.  He is interested in exploring ways of bringing scientists and teachers together to share authentic research experiences and then working with them to bring these experiences into their classrooms in a meaningful way.  An example of the type of program he is involved with is Reef Watch.

Reef Watch Homepage

Classes taught include Science: Knowledge and Literacy, and Understanding Evolution: a classroom perspective.  He is particularly interested in informal science education and helping teachers best maximize this under utilized resource.  He maintains his position as Research Associate, Division of Invertebrate Zoology, American Museum of Natural History.

Selected Publications:

Catley, K.M. 2000 (submitted) A revision and cladistic of the temperate South American Hahniidae (Araneae).  Bulletin of the American Museum of National History.

Catley, K.M. 1994 Descriptions of New Species of Hypochilus from New Mexican and California with Cladistic Analysis of the Hypchilidae (Aranae).  American Museum Novitates 2088: 27pp.

Catley, K.M. 1993 Courtship, Mating, and Post-oviposition behavior of Hypochilius Pococki Platnick (Araneae, Hypochilidae). Proceedings XII - International Congress of Arachnology, Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 33 (2): 469-474.

Eberhard, W.G., Guzman-Gomez, S. and K.M. Catley.  1993  Correlation between Spermathecal Morphology and Mating Systems in Spiders.  Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 50: 197-209.

Catley, K.M. 1992 Super-cooling and its Ecological Implications in Coelotes atropos (Araneae, Agelenidae). Journal of Arachnology 20: 58-63.

Catley, K.M 1991 The Phylogenetic Relationships of the Species of the Lampshade Spider Genus Hypochilus.  Unpublished Masters' Thesis Western Carolina University.

Book Chapters:

1998 - Introduction to "Thompson's Ice Corps", Introduction to "Nest Gains, Nest Losses", Introduction to "Hormonal Sabotage", Scientists on Biodiversity, American Museum of National History.

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Ph.D. Washington University, 1984 

Adjunct Professor: Columbia University, NYU, University of Connecticut, Yale University 
Associate Editor, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Evolution Ancient Biomolecules Editorial Board, Systematic Biology 

Research:

Dr. DeSalle's fields of specialization are molecular evolution, population genetics, molecular systematics, and developmental biology. His current research concerns the molecular systematics of
the Drosophilidae and the use of this group as a model for systematics. Due to the excellent biological background on these flies, he and his colleagues are examining the developmental and molecular basis of morphological change. In addition, they are attempting to examine the molecular basis of character changes used in the systematics of these flies. 

A second aspect of DeSalle's research concerns the conservation genetics of endangered species. In collaboration with the New York Zoological Society, he is examining the molecular genetics of
several diverese endangered species. He is also studying the conservation genetics of endangered northeastern United States tiger beetles as a model system. 

Recent Scientific Publications:

DeSalle, R., and D. Lindley. The Science in Jurassic Park. New York: Basic Books, 1997. 

DeSalle, R., and B. Schierwater. Selected Topics in Molecular Evolution. Basel:
Birkhuaser, 1997. 

Brower, A.V.Z., R. DeSalle and A. Vogler. "Gene Trees, Species Trees and Systematics:
A Cladistic Perspective." Annual Reviews of Ecology and Systematics 27(1996): 423-450. 

DeSalle, R., and V. Birstein "PCR Analysis of Black Caviar." Nature 381(1996): 97-198. 

Powell, J., and R. DeSalle. "Drosophila Molecular Phylogenies and their Uses."
Evolutionary Biology 28 (1995): 87-138. 

Schierwater, B., B. Steit, G. Wagner and R. DeSalle. "Molecular Approaches to Ecology and Evolution." Basel: Birkhauser, 1994. 

DeSalle, R. "The Origin and Possible Time of Divergence of the Hawaiian Drosophilidae."
Molecular Biology and Evolution 9 (1992): 905-916. 

DeSalle, R., and D.A. Grimaldi. "Characters and the Systematics of Drosophilidae." Journal of Heredity 83(1992): 182-190. 

DeSalle, R., J. Gatesy, W. Wheeler, and D. Grimaldi. "DNA Sequences from a Fossil Termite in Oligo-miocene Amber and their Phylogenetic Implications." Science 257(1992): 1933-1936. 

Bio coming soon!

Tom Gorrell teaches various science courses to non-science majors at Pace University, and the School of Visual Arts in New York, NY.  The courses include: The Biological World, Human Biology and Disease, Science of Food Production and Nutrition, Anatomy and Physiology.  His research interests include studies of microbes in the environment along with molecular and biochemical characterization of parasitic protozoa.  He obtained his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1978, and B.Sc. from Purdue University in 1972.

Elysa J. Hammond is a Ph.D. candidate at Yale University in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  Her research interests are in tropical agroforestry, agroecology, and ethnobotany.  She conducted fieldwork for her dissertation in western Borneo from 1990 to 1995..  Her thesis is entitled “The Transformation of Peat Swamp Forest to Agroforest in Coastal West Kalimantan. 

She holds a M.Phil. (1990) and Master of Forest Science from Yale University (1987).   She received her B.S. in Crop Science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (1980).

Field Research

E. Hammond also worked research and education projects in Mexico and Peru from 1982 to 1986.  In the Peruvian Amazon she studied examined the use and management of fruit trees in traditional agroforesty systems.  In Veracruz, Mexico she investigated domestic fuelwood use in forest-based communities, surveyed farmers on the health risks of pesticide use, and worked in agricultural extension.

Professional Experience

An Ethnobotanical Survey of Plants in the Schoolyard

Elysa J. Hammond

      I am interested in helping teachers design an outdoor laboratory exercise that combines the fields of ethnobotany and ecology.  The objective of this study would be to conduct a survey and collection of useful plants (medicinal, edible or otherwise) found in the schoolyard or other easily accessible weedy areas.  Learning the scientific background, folklore and economic uses behind the common herbs, shrubs, and trees that students see on a regular basis will hopefully make the study of these plants much more meaningful.  In the process, students will create a class herbarium-- a collection of dried, mounted plant specimens that can be used as a teaching tool in the future.  (This study can be combined with ethnobotanical interviews that students conduct at home or in their community to learn about traditional plant use in their own culture.)

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Ph.D. 1992 Michigan Technological University
M.S. 1985 University of British Columbia, Canada
B.S. 1980 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Post-doctorate Research: Kent State University and University of Alabama

Assistant Professor: University of Illinois at Springfield
Editorial Board: Microbial Ecology

TEACHING:

Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Pace University
Assistant Director, Graduate Program in Environmental Science, Pace University
Assistnat Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of West Alabama
Co-academic Director, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation Leadership Program for
Teachers: Biology Insititue of Biodiversity, Princeton University (summer 1999)


Research:
Michael Lemke is an aquatic microbial ecologist specializing in bacterial population interactions in
freshwater ecosystems. His current research incorporates a traditional ecological approach to
investigation with molecular biology techniques to pursue questions about microbial processes in
interface habitats (i.e., oxic-anoxic layers), bacterial and viral populations in streams, nutrient cycling with
special emphasis on hydrophobic compounds, and decompositional processes in intermittent and
floodplain aquatic habitats.

Recent scientific Publications:

Kuehn, K.A., M.J. Lemke, K. Suberkropp and R.G. Wetzel. 2000. Microbial biomass and production
associated with decaying leaf litter of the emergent macrophyte Juncus effusus. Limnology and
Oceanography. 45:862-870.

Lemke, J.J. and L.G. Leff. 1999. Bacterial populations in an anthropogenically disturbed stream:
Comparison of different seasons. Microbial Ecology 38:234-243.

Leff, A.A., L.G. Leff, J.J. Lemke, R.T. Heath, and X. Gao. 1999. Abundance of viruses in Lake Erie
and it relationship to selected biotic factors. Ohio Journal of Science 99:16-18.

Lemke, M.J., P. Churchill, and R.G. Wetzel. 1998. Humic acid interaction with extracellular layers of
wetland bacteria. Verhandlungen International Verein. Limnologie 26:1621-1624.

Lemke, J.J. and S.H. Bowen. 1998. The nutritional value of organic detrital aggregate in the diet of
fathead minnows. Freshwater biology 39:447-453.

Leff, L.G. and M.J. Lemke. 1998. Ecology of aquatic microbial populations: Lessons from applied
microbiology. Journal of the North American Benthological Society 17:261-271.

Lemke, M.J., C.E. Wickstrom, and L.G. Leff. 1997. A preliminary study of the distribution of viruses and
bacteria in lotic habitats. Archiv fur Hydrobiologie 141:67-74

Leff, L.G., A.A. Leff, and M.J. Lemke. 1997. Seasonal changes in planktonic bacterial assemblages of
two Ohio streams. Freshwater Biology 39:129-134.

Lemke, M.J., C.J. McNamara, and L.G. Leff. 1997. Comparison of methods for concentration of
bacterioplankton for in situ hybridization. Journal of Microbiological Methods 29:23-29.

Lemke, M.J., B.J. Brown, and L.G. Leff 1997. The response of three bacterial populations to pollution
in a stream. Microbial Ecology 34:224-231.

Lemke, M.J., P. Churchill, and R.G. Wetzel. 1995. The effect of substrate and cell surface
hydrophobicity on phosphate utilization in bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 60:913-919

Gimenez-Bonafe, P., M. Laszczak, H.E. Kasinsky, M.J. Lemke, J.D. Lewis, M. Iskandar, T. He, M.G.
Ikonomou, F.M. White, D.F. Hunt, M. Chiva, and J. Ausio. 2000. Evolution of sperm nuclear basic
proteins fromstickleback fish (suborder Gasterosteoidei). Journal of Molecular Evolution. Accepted.

Lemke, M.J., M. Chiva, B. Coyle, D. Kulak, M. MacKay, and H.E. Kasinsky. 1999. Variability of sperm
nuclear basic proteins in the threespine stickleback and related species of Gasterosteoidei. Comparative
Biochemistry and Physiology - Part B: Biochemistry & Molecular Bilogy. 122:339-353.

Professional Organization Memberships: American society for Microbiology, International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology,
Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, Ecological Society of America, North America Benthological
Society, International Society for Microbial Ecology, Illinois Lake Association

Education: 
B.A. (mathematics) Antioch College, OH 1961
M.A. (zoology) Columbia University, NY 1965
Ph.D. (biological sciences) Columbia University, NY 1970
M.S. (applied mathematics) New York University, NY 1973

Research: 
1970-present, Research Scientist, Haskins Laboratories, Pace U.
1980, 1981 (summers) Visiting Scientist, Mathematics Dept., University of British Columbia
1983, 1985, 1986 Visiting Scientist, Soderforschungsbereich (Applied Mathematics), Heidelberg
University

Field Studies: 
Bermuda Biological Station; Shoals Marine Lab, NH; Bellairs Laboratory, Barbados,
WI; Kenya Trypanosomiasis Institute, Kenya; Igloolik Arctic Statoin, NWT, Canada; Churchill
Northern Studies Institute, Manitoba.

Professional Society Meberships:
American Association for the Advancement of Science, New York Academy of Sciences, 
American Society for Microbiology, Society for Protozoologists, Phycological Society of America, American Society of Limnologists and Oceanographers, Internation Soceity for Ecological Economics

Teaching:
Adjunct Professor, Biology & Chemistry, Pace University, NY
Adjunct Associate Professor, Microbiology, NYU Dental School.
Faculty member, School of Visual Arts, NY

Other Activities:
Editorial Board, J. Eukaryotic Microbiology, 1999-2001
Editorial Advisor, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1979-95
Convenor, Northeast Algal Symposium, 1992
Distinguished Lecturer, Northeast Algal Society 1986
Board of Directors, The River Project, 1988-Present
Key Note Speaker, meeting of the Brazilian Society of Protozoologists, Caxambu, Brazil 1992 

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Charles Peters is a plant ecologist specializing in the description and analysis of tropical trees populations. He studied forestry at the University of Arkansas and received his Masters and Ph.D. in ecology from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He has been investigating the ecology, use, and management of tropical forest resources for more than 20 years. Dr. Peters has lived and conducted long-term research in two of the largest and least explored tropical regions in the world, lowland Amazonia and the island of Borneo, and also has extensive experience working in the managed forests of Mayan Mexico. He is the author of numerous scholarly papers and articles, and he has written two books on the sustainable management of tropical forests. He teaches ecology at Yale and Columbia University and is the editor of the monograph series Advances in Economic Botany. Dr. Peters is currently the Kate E. Tode Curator of Botany at the Institute of Economic Botany of the New York Botanical Garden".

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!

Bio coming soon!