Promotions and New Hires
William E. Bemis, professor of biology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell, has been selected as the Kingsbury Director of the Shoals Marine Laboratory.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Oct04/SML_director_Bemis.msb.html
Dan Decker, professor of natural resources, has been named director of the Office of Land Grant Affairs. In his previous role as director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (CUAES), Decker promoted the integration of applied research and outreach programs, with greater stakeholder engagement. He also reformed and reorganized the leadership and decision-making structure within CUAES, with more emphasis on input from leadership within CALS, Human Ecology, and Veterinary Medicine.
Mary Jo Dudley has been named director of the Cornell Migrant Program and a senior extension associate in the Department of Development Sociology. She also serves on the executive board of the Andean Information Network and the advisory board of the Cornell Committee on U.S./Latin American Relations.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Sept05/dudley.migrant.lmc.html
Michael P. Hoffmann, professor of entomology, has been named associate dean of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and director of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (CUAES).
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Sept05/Hoffmann.lmc.html
Alice Pell, international professor of animal science, has been named director of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture, and Development.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct05/Pell_CIIFAD.html
Harvey Reissig, professor of entomology at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, has been named director of Cornell's Pesticide Management Education Program. He also was named state pesticide coordinator for CALS.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Oct05/Reissig.lmc.html
Chris B. Watkins, professor of horticulture, has been appointed associate director for agriculture and food systems for Cornell Cooperative Extension.
http://www.cce.cornell.edu/archives/2005/11/moArchiveIndex.html#000072#more
Randy Worobo, associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology, was appointed director of undergraduate education for the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.
www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/press/current
Janis Dickinson, associate professor, Natural Resources and director of citizen science, Lab of Ornithology. A behavioral ecologist, Dickinson has used western bluebirds as a model system for studying the evolution of mating systems, sex ratio, dispersal behavior, cooperative breeding, migration, and life history traits. Dickinson came from the University of California, Berkeley where she was an associate research zoologist at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and Hastings Reservation.
Tarleton Gillespie,assistant professor, Communication. PhD in communication, University of California, San Diego. Gillespie is also affiliated with the Department of Science and Technology Studies and with the Information Science Program. His research examines recent controversies concerning copyright and the Internet in relation to the historical debate over the nature of authorship and ownership, the legal, political, economic, and technological regulation of communication, and other issues.
Andre Kessler, assistant professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. PhD in chemical ecology, University of Jena/Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology. His expertise is in plant-insect interactions, multitrophic interactions, and induced plant responses to herbivory.
John March, assistant professor, Biological and Environmental Engineering.
PhD in chemical engineering, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute's Center for Biosystems Research. Among other things, he is investigating the controlled manipulation of cell signaling for novel therapeutics.
Poppy McLeod, associate professor, Communication. PhD in social psychology, Harvard University. McLeod came to Cornell from Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management. Her research focuses on communication and decision-making in work teams, with emphasis on the role of technology.
Travis Park, assistant professor, Education. PhD in agricultural education, teaching, and learning, University of Florida in Gainesville. His expertise is in school-based agricultural education teaching methods.
Cal Turvey, W. I. Myers Professor, Department of Applied Economics and Management. PhD in agricultural finance, Purdue University. Turvey was previously a professor of agricultural, food, and resource economics at Rutgers University. He was director of their Food Policy Institute and chair of his department.
Olena Vatamaniuk, assistant professor, Crop and Soil Sciences. PhD in plant pathology, L'viv State University and Kyev State University. Vatamaniuk worked previously as a research associate at the Plant Science Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. She is an expert in protein synthesis and changes in the balance of endogenous hormones in root meristems of corn during cold stress.
Brian Wansink, John S. Dyson Professor of Marketing, Applied Economics and Management. PhD in consumer behavior, Stanford University. Wansink was previously a professor and Julian Simon Fellow at the University of Illinois. His research focuses on how and why environmental and marketing variables influence the consumption of healthful foods and packaged goods.
Todd Walter, assistant professor, Biological and Environmental Engineering. PhD in engineering science and biosystems engineering hydrology from Washington State University. Interests include environmental fluid mechanics, contaminant transport, cold-regions hydrology, watershed modeling, environmental biophysics, and watershed biogeochemistry.
Connie Yuan, assistant professor, Communication. PhD in communication, University of Southern California. Her research is aimed at examining knowledge retention, creation, and transfer processes and the interrelations among these processes.
Debbie J. R. Cherney was promoted to associate professor of animal science effective August 24, 2005. Cherney’s nationally recognized research program is focused on nutrition and forage utilization of dairy cattle. She teaches the courses Contemporary Perspectives in Animal Science, Animal Nutrition, and Ethics in Animal Science and is heavily involved in undergraduate advising and service to the department, college, and university.
Mark Bain of the Department of Natural Resources was awarded tenure effective November 1, 2005. Bain, director of the Center for the Environment, is a quantitative aquatic biologist and ecosystem scientist conducting research driven by current management issues. His current research examines structure and development of bay and lagoon ecosystems around Lake Ontario, behavior and ecology of sturgeon, watershed-scale environmental planning, methods for assessing biotic status of aquatic and wetland habitats, and impacts to the Hudson River caused by the World Trade Center destruction.
Evan Cooch was promoted to associate professor of natural resources effective November 1, 2005. Cooch conducts research on the application of theoretical and quantitative methods to the management and conservation of natural resources. His areas of expertise are population modeling, statistical ecology and life history theory. Cooch also teaches courses on applied population ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife population management.
Thomas Henick-Kling was appointed full professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. An enologist, Henick-Kling studies the physiology of malolactic acid bacteria, the influence of viticultural and vinification techniques on wine quality, and the suitability of new grape crosses for winemaking.
Olga Padilla-Zakour was promoted to associate professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology. She is currently the director of the New York State Food Venture Center and the Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship. Both are vehicles for her applied research, which focuses on adding value and safety to agricultural commodities with an emphasis on small-scale processing.
Danny G. Fox , professor of animal science, retired on September 15, 2005 after a distinguished Cornell career of more than 30 years. Professor Fox is nationally renowned for his applied research and extension programs on the nutrition and management of beef and dairy cattle. Most notably, during the past 20 years he led a multidisciplinary team of colleagues from various CALS departments and other institutions in developing computer models to more accurately predict nutrient requirements and reduce the environmental impact of cattle excreta. He also developed and taught two unique advanced undergraduate courses, Applied Cattle Nutrition and Whole Farm Nutrient Management.