Graduate Faculty

Troy D. Abel, Associate Professor. BS (public health), Indiana U; MPA (public policy analysis) and PhD (public policy and science and technology policy), George Mason University. Courses in environmental policy, environmental regulation, EIA, environmental policy analysis, and international conservation and globalization. Research interests focus on the dynamic tensions of environmental science and democratic politics in a variety of arenas including community-based environmental protection, environmental justice, and international conservation projects.

[360-650-6133 / troy.abel@wwu.edu]

Andrew J. Bach, Associate Professor. BS and MA (geography), U of California/Davis; PhD (geography), Arizona State U. Courses in physical geography, climate, soils, and water resources. Research interests include glacial geomorphology, Channeled Scablands, Elwha River Dam removal, soil genesis, and geoarcheology.
[360-650-4774 / andy.bach@wwu.edu]

Gigi Berardi, Professor. BA (biology), U of California/San Diego; MS (natural resources conservation) and PhD (natural resources, policy and planning), Cornell U. Courses in human geography, research and writing; graduate course on the history and philosophy of geography. Research interests include environment and society, the study of natural resource-dependent communities and persistent rural poverty in the U.S., native Alaskan populations at risk.

[360-650-3284 / gigi.berardi@wwu.edu]

Brian L. Bingham, Professor. BS and MS (zoology), Brigham Young U; PhD (biology), Florida State U. Courses include marine science, invertebrate biology and a graduate course in experimental design. Research emphasizes marine ecology with particular interests in the dynamics of benthic communities and the importance of reproductive and larval processes.

[360-650-2845 or 360-650-7400 / brian.bingham@wwu.edu]

Leo R. Bodensteiner, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences. BA (biology), Moorhead (MN) State U; MA and PhD (zoology), Southern Illinois U. Courses in ecology, including fundamentals, limnology, stream habitat assessment, and fisheries management, as well as the Huxley core course and environmental impact assessment. Research interests are fisheries management, fish ecology, and aquatic habitat assessment and restoration.

[360-650-7375 / leo.bodensteiner@wwu.edu]

Patrick H. Buckley, Associate Professor. BS (civil engineering and geology), U of Notre Dame; MA (economic geography and South Asian studies) U of Washington; PhD (economic geography), Boston U. Courses include environmental and regional modeling, GIS, spatial analysis, East Asia, US-Canada borderland, pacific rim, sustainable environment in Japan, environmental issues in China, global economy and transportation modeling and planning. Research: Eco-Pioneers in Hokkaido, MIT-Muroran, Japan; Trans-Border Environmental Issues, UCFV, Canada; Saving the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge; and Delphi Modeling of Future Quality of Life: Bellingham and Tateyama, Japan.

[360-650-4773 / patrick.buckley@wwu.edu]

Andrew G. Bunn, Associate Professor. BS (zoology), The Evergreen State College; MEM (resource ecology), Duke U; PhD (environmental science), Montana State U. Courses in climate change, paleoecology, and energy. Research interests focus on impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems - especially forests. Recent studies include monitoring of alpine treeline for effects of climate change and work on boreal forest growth in relation to the global carbon budget.

[360-650-4252 / andy.bunn@wwu.edu]

Rebecca A. Bunn, Assistant Professor. BS (civil engineering), Michigan Tech U; MS (environmental engineering), U Colorado; PhD (environmental science), Montana State U. Courses in contaminant fate and transport, biostatistics, and energy. Research interests focus on plant and soil ecology. Recent studies include the interactions between ectomycorrhizae and arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) inrecruitment and establishment of forest seedlings, the role of AM in plant invasions, and the effects of AM on host plants across stress gradients of pH and temperature.

[360-650-4597/ rebecca.bunn@wwu.edu]

James M. Helfield, Assistant Professor. BA (English literature), Duke U; MES (environmental studies) York U; MSc (physical geography) U Toronto; PhD (forest ecology) U Washington. Research interests include ecology of rivers and riparian forests; linkages between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems; watershed management and restoration.
[360-650-7285 / james.helfield@wwu.edu]

Peter S. Homann, Professor. BA (natural sciences), BS (chemistry), Case Western Reserve U; MS (forest ecology), Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies; PhD (forest soils, nutrient cycling), U of Washington. Courses include terrestrial biogeochemistry, environmental systems, water quality, and biostatistics. Research is focused on 1) quantifying soil organic matter at local and regional scales, evaluation of controlling factors, and assessment of uncertainty, 2) nutrient and carbon cycling in forest ecosystems, and 3) modeling plant-soil interactions at seedling to forest-stand scales.

[360-650-7585 / peter.homann@wwu.edu]

Wayne G. Landis, Professor and Director, Institute of Environmental Toxicology. BA (biology), Wake Forest U; MA (biology) and PhD (zoology), Indiana U. Courses in environmental toxicology and risk assessment. His current research is in developing new methods in toxicology, evaluating multispecies toxicity tests, and describing how ecosystems respond to stressors.

[360-650-6136 / wayne.landis@wwu.edu]

Robin A. Matthews, Professor and Director, Institute for Watershed Studies. BS (biology), U of California/Riverside; MS (environmental studies), Indiana U; PhD (botany/ aquatic ecology), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State U. Courses in stream ecology, environmental pollution, aquatic and environmental toxicology, limnology and statistical ecology. Research interests in freshwater ecology and aquatic toxicology.

[360-650-3507 / robin.matthews@wwu.edu]

Michael J. Medler, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental Studies. BS (philosophy) and MS (environmental studies), U Oregon; PhD (geography), U Arizona. Courses in GIS, natural resources, biogeography and wild land fire. Research interests center on developing techniques that simplify the mapping and understanding of complex biophysical processes such as forest fire, fire hazard, or habitat.

[360-650-3173 / michael.medler@wwu.edu]

Jean O. Melious, Professor. BA (government and environmental studies), St. Lawrence U; PhM (urban design and regional planning), U of Edinburgh; JD, Harvard Law School. Courses in environment and resource policy, comparative and international environmental policies, environmental law and Canadian environmental policy. Significant experience in handling matters involving environmental impact assessment, regulation of air and water pollution, hazardous waste regulation, endangered species legislation, planning and zoning law, growth management and transportation issues.
[360-650-7377 / jean.melious@wwu.edu]

John C. Miles, Professor. BA (anthropology), Dartmouth College; MS (recreation and park management), U of Oregon; PhD (education), Union Institute. Courses in conservation history, environmental ethics, nature writing and experiential and environmental education. Research interests are in wilderness education and wilderness management, national park and forest policy, and the history and natural resources of the North Cascade region. He is currently studying the role of wilderness in national park history and the effect of the international boundary across the North Cascades on land management there.

[360-650-2896 / john.miles@wwu.edu]

Scott B. Miles, Associate Professor. BS (civil and environmental engineering), Washington State U; MS (civil and environmental engineering), U of Massachusetts; Postgrad diploma (GIS), U of Edinburgh; PhD (geography), U of Washington. Courses on impacts of disasters, environmental modeling and GIS, GIS applications for urban and disaster planning. Research interests include sustainable development of disaster risk reduction, social vulnerability, community resilience, community disaster recovery, local self-reliance, socio-environmental modeling with GIS, participatory modeling and GIS, environmental conflict resolution, group dynamics and collaborative methods.

[360-650-2440 / scott.miles@wwu.edu]

Debnath Mookherjee, Professor. BSc and MSc (geography), U of Calcutta; PhD (geography), U of Florida. Courses in systematic and regional fields of geography including urban and economic geography, regional development, spatial analysis of environmental problems, the developing world and Asian geography. Current research interests include comparative urbanization, regional development and growth management.

[360-650-2895 / debnath.mookherjee@wwu.edu]

O. Eugene Myers, Jr., Associate Professor. BS (environmental studies), Western Washington U; MA and PhD (psychology and human development), U of Chicago. Courses in human ecology and environmental education, environmental history and ethics, and environmental geography of childhood. Research interests include life-span development, human-animal interaction, cultural and psychological aspects of relations to the natural environment, qualitative research methods, history and philosophy of social science.

[360-650-4775 / gene.myers@wwu.edu]

David A. Rossiter, Associate Professor. BA (geography), U British Columbia; MA (geography) and PhD (socio-environmental theory, critical cultural geography, historical geography of Canada), York U. Courses in human geography, geographies of Canada, resource management, and history/environment/culture. Research interests include colonial resource geographies, the politics of native land claims, and the development of environmental discourses.

[360-650-3603 / david.rossiter@wwu.edu]

John M. Rybczyk, Chair and Professor. BS (wildlife biology), Michigan State U; MS (ecosystem biology), Eastern Michigan U; PhD (oceanography and coastal science), Louisiana State U. Courses in environmental systems, environmental disturbances and wetlands ecology. Research interests are ecological modeling, wetland sustainability and eustatic sea-level rise, primary productivity and community response to flooding stress, applied ecology, the statistics of detecting environmental impacts, wetland ecology and wetland restoration, nutrient cycling and nutrient use efficiency.
[360-650-2081 / john.rybczyk@wwu.edu]

David H. Shull, Associate Professor. BS (oceanography), U Washington; MS (oceanography), U Connecticut; PhD (environmental sciences), U Massachusetts. Courses in oceanography, marine ecology, oceanography of Puget Sound and of marine sediments. Research focuses on the structure and function of marine soft-bottom benthic communities and how they influence biological, chemical, and physical processes at the seafloor.

[360-650-3690 / david.shull@wwu.edu]

Bradley F. Smith, Professor and Dean of the College. BA (political science and international relations) and MA (political science and public administration), Western Michigan U; PhD (School of Natural Resources and Environment), U of Michigan. Research includes waterfowl, shorebird and wetland research for Environment Canada and the Canadian Fish and Wildlife Service and watershed management in the Great Lakes region. Of particular interest to him now is the creation of multi-disciplinary environmental program partnerships.

[360-650-3521 / brad.smith@wwu.edu]

Ruth M. Sofield, Associate Professor. BA (biology), West Virginia U; MS (environmental science) McNeese State U; MS (environmental science and engineering) and PhD (environmental science and engineering), Colorado School of Mines. Courses in environmental toxicology and environmental chemistry. Research interests include how genetic make-up of organisms affects tolerance during chemical exposures, and effects of water chemistry on bioavailability of metals to exposed organisms.

[360-650-2181 / ruth.sofield@wwu.edu]

Paul Stangl, Associate Professor. BS (liberal arts), Kansas State U; MCRP (city and regional planning), Rutgers U; PhD (geography), U Texas, Austin. Courses in the history and politics of planning, processes and methods in planning, planning for sustainable communities, planning studio and campus planning studio. Research interests include pedestrian planning, new urbanism, urban landscapes, memory and meaning, and Europe and Berlin.

[360-650-2793 / paul.stangl@wwu.edu]

Stephen D. Sulkin, Professor and Director, Shannon Point Marine Center and affiliated faculty member at Huxley College. AB (zoology), Miami U; MS and PhD (marine biology), Duke U. His research interests involve the study of the larval stages of crabs, including the behavioral basis of dispersal, nutritional ecology and physiology of larval development, and factors influencing larval growth and settlement in Puget Sound crab species.

[360-293-2188 / stephen.sulkin@wwu.edu]

David O. Wallin, Professor. BS (biology), Juniata College; MA (biology), The College of William and Mary; PhD (environmental science), U of Virginia. Courses in fundamentals of ecology, terrestrial ecology, landscape ecology, and use of remote sensing in ecology. Research interests focus on the regional-scale study of land-use effects on the structure and function of forest ecosystems. Recent studies have used satellite data to evaluate the consequences of forest change on vertebrate diversity and the regional carbon budget.

[360-650-7526 / david.wallin@wwu.edu]

Grace A. Wang, Associate Professor. BS (political economy of natural resources), UC Berkeley; MS (forestry) and PhD (forestry), U of Minnesota. Courses include natural resource and environmental policy and public land and wilderness policy. Research interests focus on multicultural issues in natural resources, non-timber forest products, and community-based natural resource policy/management.

[360-650-3278 / grace.wang@wwu.edu]

Nicholas C. Zaferatos, Associate Professor. BS (geography), State U of New York; MS (environmental planning), Western Washington U; PhD (urban planning), U of Washington. Courses include urban and environmental planning, sustainable community development, planning theory and methods, environmental policy, Native American natural resources policy. Research interests include growth management, community development, intergovernmental relations, and Native American community and economic development and federal Indian environmental policy.
[360-650-7660 / nicholas.zaferatos@wwu.edu]

Dorene Gould, Graduate Program Coordinator
(360) 650-3646

Dr. Ruth Sofield, Graduate Adviser for Environmental Science
(360) 650-2181

Ruth.Sofield@wwu.edu

Dr. Andy Bach, Graduate Adviser for Geography
(360) 650-4774

Andy.Bach@wwu.edu

Dr. John Miles, Graduate Adviser for Environmental Education
(360) 650-2896

John.Miles@wwu.edu