Itasca instructor profiles

David D. Biesboer Professor; Director, Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories
, Department of Plant Biology biesboer@umn.edu

Research interests include nitrogen cycling in wetlands, and the anatomy and physiology of angiosperms. Dr. Biesboer is a recipient of the Morse/Alumni Award for outstanding teaching.

Muir Eaton Assistant Professor
, Drake University muir.eaton@drake.edu

Assistant Professor of Vertebrate Biology, Biology Department, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa
Research interests focus on the evolution of characteristics among birds, ranging from plumage coloration to ecological niches, using a comparative phylogenetic approach. (EEB 4844, Ornithology)

Jeff Gralnick Assistant Professor
, Department of Microbiology & BioTechnology Institute gralnick@umn.edu

Dr. Gralnick's research strives to integrate both classical and modern molecular approaches to understand how bacteria influence our planet. He has extensively studied the physiology of Shewanella, a species of gram-negative bacteria found throughout the world in aquatic environments. By understanding the molecular mechanism that enables this species to respire a diversity of compounds - including insoluble minerals - he hopes to engineer strains that can generate power in microbial fuel cells or react against certain toxic metals in the environment. (Biol 4850, Intro to Mississippi Metagenomics)

Leif Hembre Associate Professor
, Hamline University lhembre@hamline.edu

Research interests include the evolutionary biology of organisms that alternate between asexual and sexual reproduction, aquatic ecology, acoustic analyses of zooplankton, and invertebrate biology. (Biol 3807, Ecology)

Bruce W. Jarvis Lecturer in Biology
, UW-Platteville jarvisb@uwplatt.edu

Dr. Jarvis has taught microbiology courses at the University of Wisconsin, University of Minnesota and spent a decade doing research and product development in the biotechnology industry in Madison. Recently, he taught an advanced undergraduate lab course on and did research on the metagenomics of the Mississippi River. Currently, he teaches Biology at UW-Platteville.

Larry Kuechle Engineering Manager
, Advanced Telemetry Systems, Inc. lkuechle@atstrack.com

ATS manufactures radio-telemetry, radio-location and supporting software used to monitor free ranging animals. Prior to his association with ATS he was director of the University of Minnesota’s Cedar Creek Bioelectronics Laboratory for 25 years. He has authored or co-authored more than 30 publications relating to radio telemetry. (Animal Behavior/Telemetry lecturer)

Jon Ross Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1996
rossx008@umn.edu

Resident Biologist and Associate Director, Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories

Research interests: Aquatic biology, specifically applications of telemetry to free ranging fish, ecological genetics of zooplankton and environmental monitoring

Donald L. Rubbelke Professor
, Lakeland Community College, Kirtland, OH Drubbelke@lakelandcc.edu

His interests in imaging encompass nature photography, macrophotography, and photomicroscopy. His ecological interests and concerns drive his desire to document rare and elusivebiological subjects and behaviors. Access his photographic Web site. (Biol 4862, Biological Photography and Digital Imaging Techniques)

Michael J. Sadowsky Ph.D., University of Hawaii, 1983
, Professor, Soil, Water, and Climate sadowsky@umn.edu

Dr. Sadowsky, a fellow in the prestigious American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is internationally known and respected for his research work in the area of environmental microbiology. He is currently director of the BioTechnology Intsitute and the Minnesota Mississippi Metagenome Project. His research interests include molecular plant-microbe interactions in nitrogen-fixing symbiotic systems, investigations of the use of microorganisms for biodegradation and bioremediation; molecular methods to determine sources and kinds of bacteria in the environment; and metagenomics of soil, water, and intestinal environments. (Biol 4850, Intro to Mississippi Metagenomics)

Joe Whittaker Assistant Professor of Biology
, Concordia College, Moorhead jwhittak@cord.edu

Research interests include the natural history and ecology of small mammals. Much of Joe’s research has focused on the population dynamics and habitat use of shrews and voles. He is an alum of the Itasca Biological Station, and his Master’s field research was conducted near the Itasca Biological Station. He earned his M.S. at the University of Minnesota - Duluth and completed his Ph.D. in Zoology from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. (EEB 4839, Field Mammalogy)

Brian D. Wisenden Professor
, Minnesota State University, Moorhead wisenden@mnstate.edu

Interested in behavioral ecology of fishes including patterns of parental care, mating systems and chemically-mediated predator-prey interactions. (Biol 3811, Animal Behavior)