Education and Background
Faculty. University of Wisconsin, 2003-current (full Professor 2013)

Post-Doc. University of Maryland, College Park, 1997 – 2003

PhD Entomology. University of California at Berkeley, 1991 – 1997

B.S. Honors Biology summa cum laude. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1988 – 1991

Research Interests
My research group and I work broadly in the field of landscape ecology of arthropods in both agricultural and natural systems.  Our work has examined the role of unmanaged “non-crop” lands in the agricultural matrix and their effects on the abundance and diversity of beneficial insects including predators and pollinators and their effect on the provisioning of ecosystem services in agricultural habitats.  Recently, we have been part of bee and butterfly conservation efforts in the state. Our work studying insect landscape ecology and conservation has partnered us Wisconsin potato, soybeans, cranberry, apple growers, and as well as rotational grazers. We focus our studies on understanding how land-use and land-cover interact with management in order to develop ways to enhance and conserve beneficial insects.  Our recent work (2007-2017) in bioenergy landscapes has been as part of the sustainability team of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.  Our research also extends to examining the ecosystem linkages between lakes and the adjacent terrestrial landscapes and the role of aquatic insects in creating those linkages.

Topics that interest me: Food web ecology, landscape ecology, ecosystem services, natural pest-suppression, pollination ecology, biological control, soil food webs, conservation, eco-informatics, lake-land linkages, invasive species, spatial subsidies.

Personal Interests
Soccer, photography, classical guitar, baking bread

Awards and honors
Post-doctoral mentoring award, UW post-doc association 2018
Vilas Associates Research Award, University of Wisconsin, VCRGE 2017
McMaster Research Fellow, CSIRO, Brisbane, Australia, 2016
Vilas Mid-Career Travel Award, University of Wisconsin, 2015
Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, Stanford University/Woods Institute, 2013
Pound Research Award, University of Wisconsin, College of Agr. and Life Sciences, 2012
Cornell University, Griswold Lecture, Department of Entomology, March 2012
H.I. Romnes Research Award, University of Wisconsin, Graduate School, 2012