Cohort 1

Students entered the LEAP Program in August, 2006

Kelly Granberg

Kelly joined the LEAP program in Spring 07 as a doctoral student in Civil and Materials Engineering. Kelly received a BS degree from the University of Madison Wisconsin, majoring in Biological Systems Engineering with an emphasis in Natural Resources and Environment. Before coming to UIC, Kelly worked as a Senior Engineer for Lake County where she was responsible for site development permitting and compliance with natural resource protection, restoration and mitigation regulations. She will bring her extensive environmental engineering skills and knowledge of land development issues to LEAP research that strives for better integration of human activities with ecological systems.

E-mail: kgranb3(at)uic.edu

Paul Gulezian

Paul graduated Magna Cum Laude from Dartmouth College where he majored in biology with high honors. His undergraduate research was part of a NSF REU grant that studied songbirds in New Hampshire's Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. His senior thesis evaluated a behavioral method for measuring avian reproductive success. Paul began the UIC doctoral program in Ecology and Evolution in 2005. He has broad interests in urban ecology and the integrated human and natural systems of human-dominated landscapes. He plans to focus his research on invasive plant species within the context of human land use practices and human behavior. In particular, Paul is interested in how soil microbial communities of disturbed habitats may influence the invasiveness of alien plant species such as garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), a ubiquitous Chicago area invasive. Paul also plays trumpet in various jazz groups and theatre productions throughout Chicago.

Web Page: www2.uic.edu/~pgulez2

E-mail: pgulez2(at)uic.edu

Jennifer Ison

Jennifer is in her second year in the Ecology and Evolution graduate program at UIC. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Olaf College where she received a B.A. in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Studies. During her time at St. Olaf she conducted research in a wide range of anthropogenic influenced landscapes.  She studied transplantation techniques as related to restoration of a popular rock climbing destination at Tettegouche State Park located on the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota.  She also did two independent ecological research projects in India as part of a study abroad program.  After graduation she spent two years at the Chicago Botanic Garden, where she worked on a long term prairie fragmentation study and vPlants, an on-line herbarium of plants in the Chicago region. Her graduate research will extend her interest in prairie plants, and she plans to study the temporal and spatial genetic structure of prairie plants across a fragmented landscape with implications for ex situ conservation and restoration.

Web Page: http://www2.uic.edu/~ison

E-mail: ison(at)uic.edu

Sara Emerson

Sara obtained her first undergraduate degree from Humboldt State University in Clinical Psychology before entering the Peace Corps to work in Montasoa , Madagascar. While in Madagascar she had the opportunity to observe the conservation challenges that arise while balancing human development and the preservation of biodiversity. This experience, however, set her on a path to become an ecologist. Sara chose to complete a second bachelor's degree in Biology here at UIC, graduating with college honors and departmental distinction. After completing her degree in biology, she volunteered to research the foraging ecology of gray squirrels with Dr. Joel Brown, investigating how squirrels balance conflicting demands for food and safety. Sara was accepted into the Department of Biological Sciences' graduate program and will pursue a specialization in Ecology and Evolution. Sara is interested in working on predator-prey interactions and how these interactions affect foraging behavior.

Charles Flower

Charles plans to complete his doctorate in the Biological Sciences program. He brings with him a wide array of experiences that prepare him for this task and a long standing interest in conservation and restoration of human altered landscapes. As an undergraduate at Lake Forest College , Charles worked with the Chicago Botanic Gardens to determine the feasibility of using ex situ plant collections to augment the genetic diversity of the Hawaiian Brighamia insignis and assisted with field studies in Nevada , Utah and Oregon. At Ohio State University , he studied patterns of carbohydrate sequestration in a northern hardwood forest. His thesis focused on investigating the temporal offset between canopy photosynthetic CO 2 uptake and tree growth. Additionally, he was a botany intern with the Bureau of Land Management where he recognized the need to meld policy, sound science and management.

In 2007 Charles completed his master's in degree at Ohio State University in Evolution, Ecology & Organismal Biology with a graduate minor in Environment and Natural Resources: Forestry.

Web page: http://icarus.uic.edu/~cflowe3/webpage/home.html

E-mail: cflowe3(at)uic.edu

Elaine Grehl

Elaine completed her bachelor's degree in landscape horticulture at Michigan State University. Before entering the University of Delaware to complete a master's degree in public horticulture administration, Elaine obtained a certificate in museum studies at the University of Delaware. Her master's thesis topic focused on the principles, design and construction of a “rain garden” on campus. She obtained grants to support her endeavor and subsequently became a speaker on this topic. Elaine was a volunteer at the Delaware Nature Society and was awarded a scholarship to attend an Environmental Institute Management class. Elaine's plan for the future is to motivate the public toward sustainable environmental stewardship in a nonprofit organization or university cooperative extension. She will pursue her PhD in the Public Administration program.

Basil Iannone

Basil completed a master's degree in Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota in June, 2007. His research focused on identifying strategies to prevent reinvasion during the transition between invasive species removal

(Phalaris arundinacea; reed canarygrass) and the reestablishment of a native plant community in restored wetlands. In preparation for these studies, Basil attended Front Range Community College and Colorado State University where he studied Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. Accepted into the Department of Biological Sciences doctoral program, Basil's interests lie in restoring natural variability and resiliency to damaged ecosystems, as well as understanding and utilizing mechanisms that affect these ecosystem qualities, to enhance future restoration efforts.

Web page: http://www2.uic.edu/~bianno2

E-mail: bianno2(at)uic.edu

Michael Iversen

Michael obtained both a BA and professional degree in architecture from Iowa State University. Over the last 20 years, he has been actively engaged in designing and consulting, teaching, and research. His experiences have enabled him to develop a “design ecology” approach which is based on identification, inventory, and assessment of energy flows and material cycles. Michael has taught courses in the area of sustainable design and urban ecology, is an affiliate member of the City Design Center at UIC and is an instructor for the Chicago Department of Environment's Green Tech Certificate Program. He is a frequent guest lecturer and panelist at conferences and workshops. He has been involved in research projects involving energy efficiency applications. Michael is a current member of the U.S. Green Building Council, and the Society of Building Science Educators and International Building Performance Simulation Association, serves on the steering committee for the UIC Institute of Environmental Science and Policy, is a LEED accredited professional.