UROP: Potential Faculty Sponsors in CFANS

If you want to do a project in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP), the first steps are to identify a faculty member you'd like to work with, and to develop a proposal. Most faculty welcome the opportunity to supervise and collaborate with students on these projects.

A list of CFANS professors who have sponsored past UROP student-projects or who are willing to collaborate in the future can be explored below.

Expand all

Agricultural Education, Communications and Marketing

Agricultural Education, Communications and Marketing

NameContactInterests
Laura Rice
Department of Agricultural Education, Communication and Marketing
612-625-7274
llrice@umn.edu
Teaching and learning; discipline-specific pedagogies; pedagogical content knowledge; post-secondary agricultural education; global competence; technical skill acquisition and confidence in new and beginning agricultural education teachers
Amy Smith
Department of Agricultural Education, Communication and Marketing
612-625-6590
arsmith@umn.edu
Secondary teacher recruitment and retention in agriculture, food and natural resources (AFNR); scholarship of teaching and learning; professional development needs of agricultural education teachers; teacher preparation and induction in AFNR; youth leadership development
Garrett Steede
Department of Agricultural Education, Communication and Marketing
612-625-6639
gsteede@umn.edu
Public opinion, media coverage, crisis communication in food, agricultural and natural resources

Applied Economics

Applied Economics

NameContactInterests
Metin Çakir
Department of Applied Economics
612-626-7769
mcakir@umn.edu
Agribusiness, Consumer Economics, Industrial Organization
Elizabeth Davis
Department of Applied Economics
612-625-7028
edavis@umn.edu
Labor economics, poverty and welfare reform, rural economics
Frances Homans
Department of Applied Economics
612-625-6220
fhomans@umn.edu
Regulation of renewable natural resources, both in commercial and recreational settings
Jason Kerwin
Department of Applied Economics
612-625-5719
jkerwin@umn.edu
Development and growth, health economics, labor economics
Jeffrey Stamp
Department of Applied Economics
612-624-5586
stamp013@umn.edu
Creativity, corporate entrepreneurship, pedagogy, opportunity recognition, design thinking

Bioresources and Bioenergy

Bioresources and Bioenergy

NameContactInterests
Abdennour Abbas
Department of Bioproducts & Biosystems Engineering
612-624-4292
aabbas@umn.edu
Biosensors and bionanotechnology for food safety, environmental control, biodiagnostics, and biodefense
Bo Hu
Department of Bioproducts & Biosystems Engineering
612-625-4215
bhu@umn.edu
Biomaterials and drug delivery, cell immobilization and granulation
Kevin Janni
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
612-625-3108
kjanni@umn.edu
Air quality, livestock systems, ventilation
Roger Ruan
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
612-625-1710
ruanx001@umn.edu
Biorefining, bioprocessing, biofuel, biomaterial and value-added process development
Ulrike Tschirner
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
612-624-8798
tschi007@umn.edu
Biomass conversion (pretreatment, saccharification, pulping)

Entomology

Entomology

NameContactInterests
Ann Fallon
Department of Entomology 
612-625-3728
fallo002@umn.edu
Insect biology, genetics, toxicology, medical entomology 
Vera Krischik
Department of Entomology
612-625-7044
krisc001@umn.edu
Conservation butterflies, native bees, pesticide use, landscape management

Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management

Environmental Sciences, Policy and Management

NameContactInterests
Todd Arnold
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-2220
arnol065@umn.edu
Population ecology and management of grassland and wetland-dependent wildlife
Robert Blair
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-2198
blairrb@umn.edu
Land use effects on bird and butterfly communities
Joseph Bump
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-2255
bump@umn.edu
Wildlife biology, management, and conservation. Carnivore ecology. Mammalogy. Animal-ecosystem links.
Rui Cheng
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
ruicheng@umn.eduEnvironmental sensing, sensor development, carbon cycle science, climate modeling
Dean Current
Department of Forest Resources
612-624-4299
curre002@umn.edu
Fair trade, sustainable natural resource management
Mae Davenport
Department of Forest Resources
612-625-5212
mdaven@umn.edu
Sustainable land use, recreation planning, community-based ecosystem management
Tim Griffis
Department of Soil, Water and Climate
612-625-3117
tgriffis@umn.edu
Climatology
Gretchen Hansen
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-4228
ghansen@umn.edu
Fisheries, food webs, lake responses to climate change, aquatic invasive species
Mark Hove
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-3019
hovex002@umn.edu
Freshwater mussels, upper-Midwest mussel and fish distribution
Satoshi Ishii
Department of Soil, Water & Climate
612-624-7902
ishi0040@umn.edu
Environmental microbiology, water quality, bioremediation
Kenneth Kozak
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-3982
kozak016@umn.edu
Amphibians and reptiles species accumulation
Loren Miller
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-3019
LMM@umn.edu
Fisheries management and conservation, population genetics, conservation genetics
Ray Newman
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-625-5704
rnewman@umn.edu
Aquatic ecology, invasive species, and fisheries management
Nick Phelps
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-7450
phelp083@umn.edu
Fish health and aquatic invasive species
Ingrid Schneider
Department of Forest Resources
612-624-2250
ingridss@umn.edu
Human dimensions of natural resources with focus areas in recreation and nature based tourism management, equity and inclusion, and technology acceptance
Andrew Simons
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-6292
asimons@umn.edu
Fish distribution and evolution
David Smith
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-5369
smith017@umn.edu
Biology and conservation of Asian mammals, conservation data bases, ecosystem management, and population genetic structure
Tim Smith
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
612-624-6755
timsmith@umn.edu
Environmental accounting, corporate sustainability, life cycle assessment
Peter Sorensen
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-4997
soren003@umn.edu
Physiology and behavior of fish; olfaction, fish reproductive biology, pheromones, control of exotics, fish migration, aquatic chemical ecology
Dawn Tanner
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
tann0042@umn.eduUrban wildlife and remote-camera monitoring
Brandy Toner
Department of Soil, Water & Climate
612-624-1362
toner@umn.edu
Chemical and biological processes of metals
Robert Venette
Department of Entomology
651-649-5028
venet001@umn.edu
Invasion biology and population ecology of exotic species, statistical methods to quantify risk associated with pink bollworm on cotton
Bruce Vondracek
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-8748
vondr001@umn.edu
Fish community ecology and stream ecology
Marcella Windmuller-Campione
Department of Forest Resources
612-624-3699
mwind@umn.edu
Silviculture and applied forest ecology
Kyungsoo Yoo
Department of Soil, Water & Climate
612-624-7784
kyoo@umn.edu
Soil formation, earth worms, erosion, and the carbon cycle

Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

NameContactInterests
Todd Arnold
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-2220
arnol065@umn.edu
Population ecology and management of grassland and wetland-dependent wildlife
Robert Blair
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-2198
blairrb@umn.edu
Land use effects on bird and butterfly communities
Joseph Bump
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
 
612-624-2255
bump@umn.edu
Wildlife biology, management, and conservation. Carnivore ecology. Mammalogy. Animal-ecosystem links
Gretchen Hansen
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-4228
ghansen@umn.edu
Fisheries, food webs, lake responses to climate change, aquatic invasive species
Mark Hove
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-3019
hovex002@umn.edu
Freshwater mussels, upper-Midwest mussel and fish distribution
Kenneth Kozak
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-3982
kozak016@umn.edu
Amphibians and reptiles species accumulation
Lynn Waterhouse
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
lwater@umn.eduMarine biology. Quantitative fisheries assessment. Quantitative ecology.
Loren Miller
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-3019
LMM@umn.edu
Fisheries management and conservation, population genetics, conservation genetics
Ray Newman
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-625-5704
rnewman@umn.edu
Aquatic ecology, invasive species, and fisheries management
Nick Phelps
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-7450
phelp083@umn.edu
Fish health and aquatic invasive species
Andrew Simons
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-6292
asimons@umn.edu
Fish distribution and evolution
David Smith
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-5369
smith017@umn.edu
Biology and conservation of Asian mammals, conservation data bases, ecosystem management, and population genetic structure
Peter Sorensen
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-4997
soren003@umn.edu
Physiology and behavior of fish; olfaction, fish reproductive biology, pheromones, control of exotics, fish migration, aquatic chemical ecology
Dawn Tanner
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
tann0042@umn.eduUrban wildlife and remote-camera monitoring
Bruce Vondracek
Department of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Biology
612-624-8748
vondr001@umn.edu
Fish community ecology and stream ecology

Food, Animal and Nutritional Sciences

Food, Animal and Nutritional Sciences

NameContactInterests
Jayendra Amamcharla
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
jayendra@umn.eduMilk, milk products and ingredients
George Annor
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
gannor@umn.eduCereals and grains
Kahina Boukherroub
Department of Animal Science
612-624-1771
kahina@umn.edu
Avian reproductive physiology
Steven Bowden
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-625-4712
sbowden@umn.edu
Food safety microbiology
Brian Crooker
Department of Animal Science
612-625-3185
crook001@umn.edu
Nutritional physiology and lactation in dairy cattle
Fernanda Dias
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-624-3683
ffgdias@umn.edu
Analytical and food chemistry
Andres Gomez
Department of Animal Science
612-624-9744
gomeza@umn.edu
Microbiome impacts on human and animal nutrition and health 
Craig Hassel
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-624-7288
chassel@umn.edu
Diversity in food and health epistemology, cross-cultural engagement
Kathleen Hill Gallant
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-625-5285
hillkm@umn.edu
Mineral metabolism in kidney disease, medical nutrition therapy, controlled feeding, metabolic balance and kinetic studies, clinical and translational research
B Pam Ismail
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-625-0147
bismailm@umn.edu
Proteins
Anup Johny
Department of Animal Science
612-625-5277
anupjohn@umn.edu
Interventional food safety microbiology, alternatives to antibiotics, foodborne zoonotic pathogens, multidrug-resistant bacteria, antibiotic resistance mitigation, environmentally-friendly, and sustainable food production 
Kumar Mallikarjunan
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-624-3224
kumarpm@umn.edu
Food process engineering
Krishona Martinson
Department of Animal Science
krishona@umn.edu
 
Equine forage utilization, equine industry impacts and trends
Laura Mauro
Department of Animal Science
612-624-6274
mauro002@umn.edu
Cellular biology, animal physiology
Len Marquart
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-624-3255
lmarquar@umn.edu
Food quality, food service management, whole grains and health, cereal grains
Dan O'Sullivan
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-624-4188
dosulliv@umn.edu
Food fermentation microbiology
Melissa Palmer
Department of Animal Science
612-625-1814
melissap@umn.edu
Animal physiology
Marla Reicks
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-624-4735
mreicks@umn.edu
Nutrition education and application of behavior change theory
Isaac Salfer
Department of Animal Science
612-301-2945
ijsalfer@umn.edu
Ruminant nutrition - dairy
Milena Saqui-Salces
Department of Animal Science
612-624-4277
msaquisa@umn.edu
Endocrine function of the gastrointestinal tract
Joanne Slavin
Department of Food Science & Nutrition
612-624-7234
jslavin@umn.edu
Dietary fiber, resistant starch, phytochemicals
Job Ubbink
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-625-1785
jubbink@umn.edu
High-solid food materials
Zata Vickers
Department of Food Science and Nutrition
612-624-2257
zvickers@umn.edu
Sensory science and food acceptability

Forest Resources

Forest Resources

NameContactInterests
Dean Current
Department of Forest Resources
612-624-4299
curre002@umn.edu
Fair trade, sustainable natural resource management
Mae Davenport
Department of Forest Resources
612-625-5212
mdaven@umn.edu
Sustainable land use, recreation planning, community-based ecosystem management
Ingrid Schneider
Department of Forest Resources
612-624-2250
ingridss@umn.edu
Human dimensions of natural resources with focus areas in recreation and nature based tourism management, equity and inclusion, and technology acceptance
Marcella Windmuller-Campione
Department of Forest Resources
612-624-3699
mwind@umn.edu
Silviculture and applied forest ecology

Plant Sciences

Plant Sciences

NameContactInterests
Neil Anderson
Department of Horticultural Science
612-624-6701
ander044@umn.edu
Flower breeding and genetics
Lois Braun
Department of Agronomy & Plant Genetics
651-641-1880
brau0259@umn.edu
 
Jerry Cohen
Department of Horticultural Science
612-624-9212
cohen047@umn.edu
Plant biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology related to the regulation of plant growth and development
Julie Grossman
Department of Horticultural Science
612-625-8597
jgross@umn.edu
Organic agriculture, soil nutrient cycling, legume cover crops, rhizobia ecology, biological nitrogen fixation
Linda Kinkel
Department of Plant Pathology
612-625-0277
kinkel@umn.edu
Ecology of plant-associated micro-organisms, especially antibiotic-producing bacteria, in native prairie and in agricultural soils
James Kurle
Department of Plant Pathology
612-625-3167
kurle001@umn.edu
Soybean yield, soybean cultivars
Mary Meyer
Department of Horticultural Science
612-301-1247
meyer023@umn.edu
Plant identification and landscape usage, ornamental and native grasses, prairie restoration
Mary Rogers
Department of Horticultural Science
612-624-8871
roge0168@umn.edu
Organic horticultural food systems, insect pest management, vegetable crop management systems, controlled environment agriculture, urban agriculture
Deborah Samac
Department of Plant Pathology
612-625-1243
adasamac@umn.edu
Disease resistance and persistence of alfalfa stands, and to introduce new traits into alfalfa to increase utilization in new environments and for new uses
Laura Shannon
Department of Horticultural Science
lmshannon@umn.eduPotato genomics and breeding
Alan Smith
Department of Horticultural Science
smith022@umn.eduGenetics, biotechnology, invasive plant reproduction and management, and tissue cultures
Brian Steffenson
Department of Plant Pathology
612-625-4735
bsteffen@umn.edu
Barley genetics, disease resistance
Robert Stupar
Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics
612-625-5769
stup0004@umn.edu
Genetics, genomics, breeding, trait mapping, gene discovery, and biotechnology of crop legume species, including soybean and pea
Cindy Tong
Department of Horticultural Science
612-624-3419
c-tong@umn.edu
Molecular biology, vegetable crop production, apple storage disorders
Eric Watkins
Department of Horticultural Science
612-624-7496
ewatkins@umn.edu
Turfgrass science

Sustainable Systems

Sustainable Systems

NameContactInterests
Rui Cheng
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering 
ruicheng@umn.eduEnvironmental sensing, sensor development, carbon cycle science, climate modeling
Dean Current
Department of Forest Resources
612-624-4299
curre002@umn.edu
Fair trade, sustainable natural resource management
Mae Davenport
Department of Forest Resources
612-625-5212
mdaven@umn.edu
Sustainable land use, recreation planning, community-based ecosystem management
Tim Smith
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering 
612-624-6755
timsmith@umn.edu
Environmental accounting, corporate sustainability, life cycle assessment