Staff and Students
   

Hugh Brown, Ph.D.
Director, FSEEC ;  Associate Professor, Dept of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Ball State University
 Dr. Brown's teaching responsibilities are primarily to teach upper level courses in soils, sustainable agriculture, and wetlands. His research efforts are aimed to improve management of our natural resources: soil, water, and biological communities. Brown is a co-author for land management curriculum (in development) for the Land Trust Alliance, a national organization dedicated to supporting land trusts. Brown chaired the NREM Department from 2000 to 2006.

Dr. Brown is currently engaged in a major watershed management project on the White River in Delaware County that involves assessment of the relationship between land use and water quality. He has also supervised research on a variety of GIS projects including investigation of biomass energy production, vegetative filter strips, and wetland hydrology. His service includes organizations such as the Red-tail Conservancy (a regional land trust), the Soil and Water Conservation Society, and the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service's Technical Advisory Committee. Additional information and vita can be found here:  http://www.bsu.edu/nrem/article/0,1371,-4269-23690,00.html

John Taylor
Land Manager,  FSEEC

Received BA (1992) and MS (1997) in Botany and Biology from BSU.  Data collection (summers, 1993 - 1995) on the forests of Mammoth Cave National Park for Master's thesis research. Employed with Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (IDNL) in 1997 as Vegetation Technician at Porter, IN. Worked with Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Division of Nature Preserves (Northwest Section) from 1997-1998. Employed from 1998 - 2001native vegetation consultant and sales representative for a local native plant nursery. Employed at BSU as Land Manager since  2001. Personal interests include native plant community restoration, invasive species eradication, clean water and renewable energy systems.
 

Shari Grant 
Field Coordinator of FSEEC and Manager of TRGH  (Teaching & Research Greenhouse)

Received BS (1997) in Wildlife Biology from Ball State University (BSU). Employed with IDNR Division of State Parks and Reservoirs from 1996-2001 as an Interpretive Naturalist. Received Secondary Education Lincensure from BSU in 2000 and State of Indiana Teaching Certificate (2000) in Biology and Earth Space Science. Employed at BSU as Field Coordinator since 2001. Personal interests include historical uses of plants by Native Americans and Pioneers and restoration and management of wildlife habitat.

Cheryl LeBlanc
Curator/Ecologist, Wheeler Orchid Collection and Species Bank

Received BS (1985) and MS (1988) in Plant Ecology SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse NY. Thesis: "Vegetation Dynamics in a Central New York Shrub-Carr, 94 years After Fire". Employed with IDNR Division of Nature Preserves from 1987 - 1991 as a plant ecologist. Employed at BSU as Curator of WOCSB and plant ecologist since 1993. Personal interests include wetland communities, and prescribed fire management.

Stanley H. Ross
Laboratory/Field Instrumentation Technician, NREM and FSEEC
Received BS (1981) in Natural Resources from Ball State University.  Employed with Core Laboratories in Midland, Texas as a Hydrocarbon Well Logger (1981-'83).  Employed at Amarillo Testing and Engineering in Amarillo, Texas, as laboratory technician/drilling supervisor (1983 - '87). Founded Ross Environmental Services, Inc, (1987) in Amarillo, Texas as environmental consultant in the remediation of contaminated soils and groundwater.  Employed with Lee and Ryan Environmental Consultants in Indianapolis, Indiana, as Project Manager and Drill Rig operator (2001 - '05). Employed at Phillippe Water Company in Anderson, IN (2004 -'05) as service technician/sales.  Employed at BSU as Laboratory/Field Instrumentation Technician (LFIT), since January, 2008.