Faculty Working in Biologically-Based Materials and Products

• Assistant Professor of Phytobiomes

thb15@psu.edu
814-865-9653

• High-throughput sequencing
• Crop-associated microbiomes
• Impacts of disturbance on plant-microbe relationships
• Environmental microbiology

• Associate Professor of Wood Chemistry
• BRS Program Co-coordinator and BioProducts Option Advisor
• Chemistry of Biological Materials

nrb10@psu.edu
814-865-7423

• Chemistry of lignocellulosic materials
• Bio-based polymers
• Wood adhesives and composites

• Associate Professor of Soil Science/Microbial Ecology

mvb10@psu.edu
814-863-0779

• Soil microbiology
• Nitrogen cycle
• Soil quality
• Ecological restoration
• Biogeochemistry

• Department Head
• Professor of Plant Pathology and Systematic Bacteriology

ctb14@psu.edu
814-865-7448

• Phytobacteriology
• Translational Taxonomy
• Systematic Bacteriology
• Biological Control
• Sustainable and Organic Agriculture

• Professor of Molecular Genetics
• Director of The Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics

jec16@psu.edu
814-863-9164

• Genomics
• Conservation Genetics
• Renewable Energy
• Biotechnology

• Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
• Bionanotechnology

jcatchmark@engr.psu.edu
814-863-0414

• Nanocomposite materials and coatings
• Crystalline nanocellulose production and characterization
• Cellulose synthesis and assembly
• Microbial cellulose production
• Interaction of cellulose with other polysaccharides, proteins, and biologically derived polymers
• Practical development of new biobased materials ranging from sustainable packaging to composites for construction to materials for healthcare.

• Professor of Maize Genetics

sic3@psu.edu
814-865-1159

• Epigenetics
• Genetics
• Molecular Biology
• Plant-pathogen interactions
• Maize Genetics
• Sorghum Genetics
• Flavonoids
• Phytoalexins
• Plant-fungus interactions
• Plant-insect interactions
• Plant-Environment interactions

• Assistant Professor and Research Associate
• Director, Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center

aac18@psu.edu
717-653-4728

• Corn Disease
• Soybean Disease
• Wheat Disease
• Field Crops Disease Management

• Professor of Food Science;
• Chair of the Ingredients as Materials Impact Group

coupland@psu.edu
814-865-2636

• Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
• Bioprocess and Food Safety Engineering

demirci@psu.edu
814-863-1098

• Bioprocess Engineering/Fermentation: Bioconversion of agricultural raw and waste commodities into value added products including bioenergy/biofuels, microbial enzymes, organic acids, polysaccharides, antimicrobial agents; optimization; novel bioreactors; downstream processing.
• Food Engineering/Food Safety : inactivation of pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms by using novel non-thermal processing technologies including pulsed UV light, electrolyzed oxidizing water, and ozone.

• Professor of Avian Nutritional Biochemistry
• Animal Science Graduate Program Coordinator
• Poultry and Avian Science Minor Coordinator

relkin@psu.edu
814-863-2102

• Avian amino acid and lipid nutrition and metabolism
• Modification of poultry meat and eggs to enhance human health

• Harbaugh Entrepreneur and Innovation Faculty Scholar

mag199@psu.edu
814-865-0469

• Entrepreneurship
• Strategy
• AgTech entrepreneurship
• Bio-renewable building product technologies
• Firm-industry analytics

• Professor of Agricultural Economics

jharper@psu.edu
814-863-8638

• Farm Management
• Risk Management
• Production Economics

• Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Infectious Disease

harvill@uga.edu

• Immunology
• Infectious Disease
• Microbiology
• Genomics
• Microbiota
• Microbiome
• Bacterial Pathogenesis

• Professor of Forest Resources

mgj2@psu.edu
814-865-3994

• Bioenergy
• Agroforestry
• Forest Economics and Finance
• International Forestry
• Forest Extension
• Non Timber Forest Products

• Professor of Wood Products Engineering
• Wood Products Processing and Manufacturing

jjj2@psu.edu
814-865-3916

• Wood products processing and manufacturing
• Wood composite material systems
• Wood structural applications
• Wood composite performance characteristics and related material evaluation methodologies

• Associate Professor
• Coordinator and Adviser of the Minor in Plant Pathology

jimenez-gasco@psu.edu
814-863-2355

• Population biology
• Ecology of plant-associated microorganisms
• Fusarium and Verticillium wilts

• Walther H. Ott Professor in Avian Biology

alj14@psu.edu
814-867-3203

• Tombros Early Career Professor
• Associate Professor, Turfgrass Management
• Director, Golf Course Turfgrass Management Program

kaminski@psu.edu
814-865-3007

• Turfgrass Science
• Turfgrass Management
• Agronomy
• Golf Course Management
• Turfgrass pathology
• plant pathology
• Weed management

• Professor

sxk55@psu.edu
814-863-3846

• Biocontrol
• Bioinformatics
• Fungal genetics and genomics
• Microbial chemical ecology
• Molecular diagnosis of plant pathogens

• Associate Professor of Production Systems and Modeling

akemanian@psu.edu
814-863-9852

• Agroecosystems
• Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling
• Hydrologic and Nutrient Cycling Modeling
• Environmental Biophysics
• Plant Ecophysiology

• Associate Professor

twm4@psu.edu
814-863-7646

• Fire blight resistance in apple trees
• Biologically-based approaches to fire blight disease control
• Development of citrus greening-resistant citrus varieties
• Molecular genetics of Erwinia amylovora pathogenicity
• Development of tomatoes resistant to bacterial canker disease
• Understanding rootstock-scion interactions in grafted apple trees

• Professor
• Harbaugh Teaching Scholar (2012-2013)
• Sustainable Business Management

jh-michael@psu.edu
814-863-2976

• packaging
• sustainable business
• pallets
• zero waste
• sports greening
• wood and paper industry

• Professor of Reproductive Physiology
• Associate Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

tlo12@psu.edu
814-441-2657

• Reproductive Biology
• Assisted Reproductive Technologies
• Animal Science
• Dairy production
• Agricultural Biotechnology
• Agricultural Sustainability
• Graduate Training
• Undergraduate Instruction

• Assistant Professor, Tree Fruit Pathology

kap22@psu.edu
717-677-6116

• Apple and pear diseases
• Peach, cherry, other stone fruit diseases
• Tree fruit disease management

• Professor of Immunology and Molecular Toxicology

ksp4@psu.edu
814-863-8976

• Micronutrient Selenium, Selenoproteins, and Redox Homeostasis
• Macrophage Biology
• Pathways of Inflammation and Resolution (wound healing)
• Cancer (Leukemia)and Leukemia Stem Cells
• Gut Inflammation
• Bioactive Lipid Mediators- Prostaglandins & Leukotrienes

• Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
• ABE Graduate Program Coordinator
• Powder Mechanics and Food Processing

vmpuri@psu.edu
814-865-3559

• Powder Mechanics – Research focus includes: fundamental powder and powder mixture properties, multi-scale constitutive models, and computational models for powder processes.
• Food Processing – Research focus includes: engineering properties, and integrated multi-scale computational and predictive models.

• Associate Professor of Entomology and Disease Epidemiology

jlr54@psu.edu
814-863-3668

• Associate Professor, Ecosystem Science and Management

cdr14@psu.edu
814-865-0679

• Natural Resources Systems Analysis
• Forest Products Economics
• Wood Industry Operations Research
• Wood Identification and Taxonomy

• Assistant Professor/Research Associate

lur15@psu.edu
814-867-0213

• Dietary bioactive compounds
• Anthocyanins
• Gut bacteria and bioactive compound interaction

• Professor of Agronomy

gwr@psu.edu
814-863-1018

• Grain crop management
• Corn management and hybrid evaluation
• Corn silage management
• Soybean management and variety evaluation
• Winter wheat management and variety evaluation
• Winter barley management and variety evaluation
• Interseeding cover crops in corn and soybeans

• Assistant Professor of Biological and Chemical Engineering
• Synthetic Biology

salis@psu.edu
814-865-1931

• Synthetic Biology
• Metabolic Engineering
• Biophysics
• Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
• Modeling & Optimization

• Research Associate
• Machinery Systems

dhs106@psu.edu
814-863-8124

• agricultural safety and health
• agricultural machinery
• fluid power
• alternative fuels
• edible oils
• biodiesel

• Professor of Bioproducts Marketing
• BRS Graduate Program Coordinator

pms6@psu.edu
814-865-8841

• B2B marketing - bioproduct industries
• Biorefinery value stream outputs

• Professor of Environmental Soil Science

rcs15@psu.edu
814-863-7640

• Composting and compost utilization
• Mined land reclamation
• Restoration of degraded soils
• Biomass crop production

• Associate Professor

yuy3@psu.edu
814-867-0324

• Molecular plant-microbe interactions
• Disease resistance and abiotic stress tolerance
• Functional genomics and biotechnology
• Genome editing and engineering
• Rice, tomato, potato and mushroom precision breeding
• Gene-edited and genetically modified organisms

• Research Associate

huy1@psu.edu
814-865-2807

• Engineering Mechanics of Materials; Characterization of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Agricultural and Biological Materials
• Powder Mechanics; Storage, Conveying, Mixing, Size Reduction, Flow, Segregation, and Compaction of Particulate Materials
• Mathematical/numerical modeling, simulation and analysis of mechanical behavior of particulate materials and biological materials
• Applying mechanical engineering theories to the problems involving biological and particulate materials including renewable energy and consumer products

• Professor of Food Science
• Graduate Program Coordinator

grz1@psu.edu
814-863-2960

• Food process engineering
• Food materials science
• Biopolymers
• Chocolate and confectionery