School of Natural Resources and Environment

Research faculty

Jeremiah Johnson, Ph.D.

Assistant research scientist

Educational Background: 

Ph.D., Environmental Engineering, Yale University, 2007

M.S., Environmental Engineering, Yale University, 2004

B.S., Chemical Engineering, Clarkson University, 2001

Jeremiah Johnson joined SNRE and the Center for Sustainable Systems in the Fall of 2012. Dr. Johnson’s research employs systems approaches to assess the environmental impacts of variable renewable energy grid integration and large scale energy storage. Other areas of investigation include developing methods for more informed generation resource planning and forecasting material use impacts stemming from changing generation portfolios.

Contact:

jxjohns@umich.edu

G572 Dana Building

734.763.3243
734.763.3243

Jarod Kelly, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Scientist

Educational Background: 

2008 Ph.D. University of Michigan, Mechanical Engineering

2005 M.S. University of Michigan, Mechanical Engineering

2003 B.S. University of Oklahoma, Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Kelly is focused on conducting environmental impact assessment of energy generation and consumption systems. His research includes modeling the electrical grid, transportation networks (including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles), and renewable energy technologies in order to calculate the impacts of those systems on pollutant emissions. His interests are related to understanding designed systems, especially quantifying a system's environmental impact, and determining how user behavior influences a system's environmental impact.

Contact:

jckelly@umich.edu

G568 Dana Building

734-763-8564

Catherine Riseng, PhD

Assistant Research Scientist

I am an aquatic ecologist with specific focus on fluvial ecosystems and benthic invertebrate ecology. I am interested in assessing and understanding the effects of human landscape alteration on river ecosystems. A large part of my work has been to develop landscape-based models of riverine condition using biological indicators and regression-based models that predict expected condition for rivers of Michigan and Wisconsin.

Contact:

criseng@umich.edu

G170 Dana

734-763-9422

G139 Dana

Hongyan Zhang

Assistant Research Scientist, Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research

Educational Background: 

Ph.D. Ecology, The Ohio State University, 2006.
M.S. Aquatic Ecology, Ocean University of China, 1997
B.S. Marine Aquaculture, Ocean University of China, 1994

Hongyan Zhang, Ph.D., is an assistant research scientist at the NOAA-funded Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER), which is located in Ann Arbor, Mich., near the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

Contact:

zhanghy@umich.edu

4840 South State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108-9719

734-741-2235

Dima Beletsky, Ph.D.

Associate Research Scientist, Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research

Educational Background: 

1992, Ph.D., Physical Limnology/ Oceanography, Institute of Limnology, Russian Academy of Sciences, St.Petersburg, Russia.

1982, M.S., Marine Engineering, Russian State Hydrometeorological University, St.Petersburg, Russia.

Dr. Beletsky has been with the SNRE Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (joint Institute between University of Michigan and NOAA) since 1995. His research expertise lies in the hydrodynamics of lakes and coupling lake physics with biological processes. Since the beginning of his career in limnology in Russia, he has worked on hydrodynamics and climatology of several large lakes in Europe (Ladoga and Onega), North America (Lake Champlain, Lake St. Clair, Lakes Michigan, Erie, Ontario and Huron), and the Baltic Sea. His major scientific interest is climatology and long-term changes of circulation patterns in the Great Lakes

Contact:

beletsky@umich.edu

4840 South State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108-9719

734-741-2360

Thomas H. Johengen, Ph.D.

Associate Research Scientist & Director of Academic Programs, Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research

Dr. Johengen is an Associate Research Scientist and Associate Director of the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER), which is a NOAA Joint Institute program at the University of Michigan with the NOAA-Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory serving as the host lab. CILER's research activities are focused around five themes including: Climate and Large-Lake Dynamics, Coastal and Nearshore Processes, Lare-Lake Ecosystem Structure and Function, Remote Sensing, and Marine Environmental Engineering. Dr. Johengen's individual research interests focus on nutrient cycling and lower food-web dynamics in the Great Lakes, controlling the introduction of invasive species, and development of in situ water quality sensors and observing systems.

Contact:

johengen@umich.edu

4840 South State St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108-9719

734-741-2203

G110 Dana

734-764-2426
734-660-1345

Kathleen Bergen, Ph.D.

Associate Research Scientist

Educational Background: 

Ph.D. Resource Ecology and Management, University of Michigan
M.S. Information Science, University of Illinois
B.S. Geography, Western Illinois University

I am an ecologist who combines field and geospatial data and methods to study the pattern and process of ecological systems and biodiversity. I also strive to build bridges between science and social science. What motivates my work is recognition of the complexity of the relationship of humans and ecological systems. These relationships and their emergent properties can be studied at different spatial scales and levels of biological organization. Knowledge gained from field studies, geospatial data, and analysis can be used to build models that help scientists and to understand the implications of human actions on the social and natural systems of which they are a part.

Contact:

kbergen@umich.edu

3506 Dana

734-615-8834

David J. Jude Ph.D.

Research Scientist Emeritus

Educational Background: 

PhD Limnology , 1973, Michigan State University

MS Fishery Biology, 1968, Iowa State University

BS Fisheries and Wildlife management, 1966, University of Minnesota

I conduct research on the Great Lakes and connecting tributaries including: work with yellow perch larvae in Lake Michigan, work with a remotely operated vehicle on offshore reefs in Lake Michigan to collect evidence of lake trout reproduction, work with exotic species, especially round and tubenose gobies and zebra/quagga mussels, and work with toxic substances, burbot, deepwater sculpin, and larval fish distribution in the Muskegon River.

Contact:

djude@umich.edu

G524 Dana Building

734-763-3183

Great Lakes Fishery Laboratory G573 Dana Building

810-923-5773

Sara Ana Adlerstein Gonzalez, Ph.D.

Associate Research Scientist

Educational Background: 

Ph.D. School of Fisheries, 1992, University of Washington
M.S. School of Fisheries, 1986, University of Washington
M.S. Instituto de Biologia, 1973, Universidad de Concepcion, Chile
B.S. Instituto de Biologia, 1971, Universidad de Concepcion, Chile

I investigate processes at the ecosystem level using statistical modelling. My main interest in research is to understand ecological processes and population dynamics of aquatic organisms at the ecosystem level, in particular those aspects that are relevant to resource management. Recently I have been investigating spatial and temporal scales needed to study the spatial distribution of fish abundance and obtain indices of abundance of fish populations in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Since fish, as other aquatic organisms, cannot be directly observed large scale population studies must rely on analysis of data from scientific surveys or commercial operations. The analysis of this information requires specialized statistical modeling. Currently my focus is in the Great Lakes.

Contact:

adlerste@umich.edu

3010 Dana

734-764-4491

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