Research interests most recently have focused on Suburban Ecosystem management: How People Perceive and Value the Urban Forest,introducing technology into the classroom and universal design. More specific topic areas include geographic information systems, Americans With Disabilities Act, land use planning and public participation in the design process.

Beth Diamond is a landscape theorist, designer and cultural instigator who believes in landscape architecture as an art form and a visionary medium for social change and evolution. Her interests stem from a fascination with the qualities and expressions of the built world as a mirror of human civilization and her work in landscape architecture focuses on strategies to transform societies in sustainable and culturally affirming ways.

Scholarly interests include landscape architecture, landscape planning, landscape ecology, spatial modeling and analysis, and applications of information technology to planning and design. A recent project includes the development of a Land Use Change Early Warning System for the National Park Service. Dr. Ellis has also been involved in designing an environmentally sustainable educational facility for Texas A&M University next to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica.

Bob Grese serves as Director of the Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum.

My teaching and research involve ecologically-based landscape design and management that respects and heightens awareness of the cultural and natural history of a region.  I am particularly interested in the restoration and on-going management of urban wilds and role such lands can play in promoting environmental literacy and in re-connecting children and families with nature.  I have long been fascinated by the work of early designers such as Jens Jensen and Ossian Cole Simonds who borrowed from the native landscape in their work, and I feel there is much to be learned about their designs today.  I have a growing interest in green roofs and other low impact design strategies and incorporate native vegetation and can borrow from an understanding of locally native ecosystems.

My specialty, ecological design, is premised in the integration of art and science. It aims to create a built environment that is ecologically functional, contextually meaningful and personally engaging. I am a licensed professional landscape architect and a research ecologist. Current teaching includes civil engineering for designers, ecological planting design studio and sustainable site design seminar. Research focuses on how to design the built environment to promote well-being and health of humans and the natural systems within which we are embedded. Current research evaluates the response of people and urban biodiversity to extensive street tree loss in Ann Arbor owing to an insect outbreak.

As an ecological designer I place aesthetics—the visceral and psychological appeal of designed spaces, on equal footing with ecosystem considerations. An engaging experience with place is critical for developing a sense of stewardship because people will fight to save what they care about. In professional practice, teaching and research, I bring the integration art and science to bear on designs for the built environment- be that a flower bed or a national park.

Some environments bring out the best in people; many do not. That constitutes a puzzle that takes many directions, including: (1) the importance of the natural environment; (2) ways to make environments both understandable and interesting; (3) approaches to meaningful participation in environmental decision-making; (4) exploration of ways to conceptualize and assess effectiveness and well-being.

Rachel Kaplan is the Samuel Trask Dana Professor of Environment and Behavior.

Joan Iverson Nassauer is Professor of Landscape Architecture in the School of Natural Resources and Environment. She was named Fellow by the American Society of Landscape Architects (1992), Fellow of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture (2007), and Distinguished Practitioner of Landscape Ecology in the US (1998) and Distinguished Scholar (2007) by the International Association of Landscape Ecology. Teaching focuses on landscape ecology and landscape perception with applications in design and planning of metropolitan and agricultural watersheds. She has recently served as Visiting Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (2006), Farrand Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of California-Berkeley (2003, and Miegunyah Fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia (2001).

John Witter is the George Willis Pack Professor of Forest Entomology. He focuses on the effects of invasive insects and diseases on individual trees, ecosystems, and landscapes in the Great Lakes Region. He examines interactions of various disturbances, such as insects, drought, frost, pollution, and human actions, and their impacts on health and changes in forests.

My courses are largely case-based and discussion-oriented. They examine different dimensions of environmental decision-making in organizations, agencies and society in the face of conflict. Specific course topics include: Environmental Dispute Resolution; Collaborative Ecosystem Management; Negotiation and Mediation; and Environmental Organizations.

Steven Yaffee is the Theodore Roosevelt Professor of Ecosystem Management. Research involves natural resource and environmental policy, planning and management; processes of policy formation and implementation; and organizational arrangements for managing natural resources. Of particular interest is policy involving endangered species, public lands, ecosystem management, and nonprofit environmental organizations. Also interested in innovative ways to make collective choices including alternative dispute resolution, collaborative problem-solving, and negotiation processes.