Alumni

Lauren Umek (2007) Major adviser: Christopher Dunn, PhD
Research: Seasonal variation of key soil characteristics in a tallgrass prairie along a restoration gradient
Current position: Urban Ecology Project Coordinator, Instructor for Environmental Science Program for DePaul University
Contact: lumek@depaul.edu

Andrea Southgate (2008) Major adviser: Stuart Wagenius, PhD
Research: Inbreeding and population size in Echinacea angustifolia
Contact: AndreaSouthgate2008@u.northwestern.edu

Joseph Gawronski-Salerno (2008) Major adviser: Louise Egerton-Warburton, PhD
Research: Effects on the invasive garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata, Brassicaceae), on mycorrhizal associations
Current position: Pursuing PhD studies at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Contact: j_gawronski_salerno@hotmail.com

Rachel Gross (2008) Major adviser: Louise Egerton-Warburton, PhD
Research: The effect of prescribed fire history on below ground processes in tallgrass prairie
Current position: Field Ecologist, Marek Landscaping, Milwaukee, WI
Contact: rrgross@gmail.com

Eva Dubey (2008) Major adviser: Jennifer Schwarz
Research: Ecological Education for Urban Youth: Promoting Environmental Literacy Through Place-Based Education
Current position: Coordinator, Teacher Programs, Center for Teaching and Learning at Chicago Botanic Garden; Pursuing PhD studies on a part-time basis in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Education
Contact: edubey@chicagobotanic.org

Alona Banai (2008) Major advisers: Pati Vitt, PhD, and Jeremie Fant, PhD
Research: Putative hybridization of federally threatened Lespedeza leptostachya with common congener L. capitata (Fabaceae)
Current position: STEP (Solutions to Environmental Problems) Program Coordinator at the Center for Environmental Research and Policy (CUERP) at Loyola University Chicago
Contact: abanai@luc.edu

Rosemary Bush (2008): Major adviser: Cesca McInerney, PhD
Carbon isotope discrimination in modern plants for use in paleoecology
Current position: PhD student, Northwestern University, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Contact: RosemaryBush2016@u.northwestern.edu

Melissa Custic (2009) Major adviser: James R. Ault, PhD
Winter temperatures and competitive ability of alien herbs in Santa Monica
Current position: PhD student, Ecology and Evolution, University of Illinois, Chicago

Rebecca Tonietto (2009): Major adviser: Jeremie Fant, PhD
Bees of the Chicago region: do rooftop gardens function as suitable habitat?
Current position: PhD student, Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University
Contact: RebeccaTonietto2008@u.northwestern.edu

Ben Staehlin (2009) Major adviser: Jeremie Fant, PhD
Climate change impacts on Cirsium pitcheri restoration
Contact: b-staehlin@northwestern.edu

Diane Huebner (2009): Major adviser: Nyree Zerega, PhD
A molecular, morphological and experimental assessment of the conservation status of
American sea-rocket (Cakile edentula, Brassicaceae)
Current position: Isotope Technician in the lab of Dr. Donie Bret-Harte at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks

Contact: dianehuebner2009@northwestern.edu

Douglas Lynch (2009): Major adviser: Cesca McInerney, PhD
Lateral gas diffusion and chemical signature changes in plants
Contact: douglaslynch2009@northwestern.edu
Current position: NSF-IGERT LEAP doctoral fellow at the University of Illinois, Chicago