Lars O. Hedin, Ph.D.
Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Professor Hedin’s research centers on ecosystem analysis, with emphasis on the emergence and maintenance of geographically broad patterns in cycling of nutrients and greenhouse trace gases. Postdoctoral, graduate, and undergraduate students work on diverse topics that range from local-scale microbial processes to global-scale controls on ecosystem structure and function. His current interests fall in three general areas: 1) Broad controls on nutrient cycles in temperate and tropical forests; 2) Emergence of macroscopic properties (e.g., stoichiometric ratios and ecosystem functions) from Darwinian selection; and 3) Biophysical controls on soil-atmosphere exchange of the greenhouse gas methane. He is particularly interested in understanding how biogeochemical cycles are changing globally in response to large-scale modern human activities, and how such changes influence evolutionary environments of plants and microbes. Professor Hedin co-teaches ENV 201 with Professor Wilcove.

Henry S. Horn, Ph.D.
Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Professor Horn studies the adaptive geometry of trees at several scales of inquiry from the structure of twigs to the dynamics of the landscape. He is trying to translate the results at one scale into the axioms at another. The developmental pattern encapsulated in a single bud unfolds and multiplies to become a tree. The distribution of leaves within this tree determines its rate of growth in sunlight versus shade, and in moist areas versus dry. The growth rate determines a species' competitive ability relative to other species in a given environment. Relative competitive abilities can be summarized in a table of who grows in association with whom, and this table can be used to predict the future trajectory of forest composition. All of these levels of analysis and interpretation can be incorporated into calculations of productivity, and they have strong implications for regional differences in the parameters that relate carbon cycling to climate. Professor Horn is the founding director of the Program in Environmental Studies and directs the ENV Senior Thesis Colloquium.

WillIam Howarth, Ph.D.
Professor of English
William Howarth writes on ecocriticism, environmental literature and history, and Anglo-American romanticism. His thirteen books include Nature in American Life, The John McPhee Reader, The Book of Concord, Traveling the Trans-Canada, Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada, and Walking with Thoreau. Recent essays have appeared in American Scholar, Preservation, and the Library Chronicle. Former editor-in-chief of The Writings of Henry D. Thoreau, he serves on the editorial board of ISLE and the executive committee of the Princeton Environmental Institute. He is currently writing on Darwin and creationism, and on race violence in the Pacific Northwest. He has taught at Princeton since 1966, offering courses in English, American Studies, and Environmental Studies. Ph.D., Virginia, 1967. Professor Howarth teaches ENV 402, Darwin in Our Time.

Burton H. Singer, Ph.D.
Charles and Marie Robertson Professor of Public and International Affairs; Professor of Demography and Public Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School
Professor Singer’s research interests include the demography and biology of aging, mind/body health and its underlying mechanisms, and tropical public health. Formerly chair of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and professor of economics and statistics at Yale University, he has served as chair of the National Research Council Committee on National Statistics and as chair of the Steering Committee for Social and Economic Research in the World Health Organization. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and was a Guggenheim fellow in 1981–82. Ph.D., Stanford University. Professor Singer teaches ENV 401 every other fall term (not in 05-06).

Bess B. Ward, Ph.D.
William J. Sinclair Professor of Geosciences
Director, Program in Environmental Studies
Microbes control many of the important biogeochemical processes that occur in the oceans as well as on land. They contribute to the trace gas cycles that influence climate; they utilize and produce nutrients that are involved in eutrophication; and they are even capable of cleansing the environment by degrading a vast variety of chemical compounds, both naturally occurring and anthropogenically produced. Ward’s research focuses on the nitrogen cycle and the microorganisms involved in transformations of inorganic and organic nitrogen in the ocean and in sediment environments. This research makes use of technical approaches that range from molecular biological techniques to stable isotope biogeochemistry. The two main bacterial groups we study are the nitrifiers, autotrophs which oxidize ammonium to nitrite and nitrate, and the denitifiers, heterotrophs which can respire nitrate in the absence of oxygen. The linked activities of these two groups can be crucial in determining the chemical form and supply of nitrogen to planktonic communities and in determining the net nitrogen budget of ecosystems. Professor Ward teaches ENV 202.

David S. Wilcove, Ph.D.
Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Public Affairs
Professor Wilcove searches for innovative ways to better protect endangered species and biodiversity in the United States and other countries, blending ecology, public policy, and sometimes even a little bit of economics. In recent years, he has undertaken a number of studies pertaining to imperiled wildlife and the Endangered Species Act, examining such factors as the causes of species endangerment, the geographical distribution of imperiled species, and the costs of habitat restoration and conservation. Working with colleagues at Environmental Defense, he couples this research with several on-the-ground projects involving private landowners in Virginia, Texas, and Utah (ongoing). He is working on a book on the conservation of migratory animals and an assessment of ongoing efforts to preserve the endemic plants and animals of the Florida scrub ecosystem. Prior to joining the Princeton faculty in 2001, he served as senior ecologist with Environmental Defense (1991-2001) and The Wilderness Society (1986-1991). Professor Wilcove co-teaches ENV 201 with Professor Hedin.

George S. Hawkins, Esq.
Visiting Lecturer
George Hawkins ‘83 is executive director of New Jersey Future, a statewide research and policy group advocating a smarter way to grow: one that protects our open lands and natural resources, revitalizes neighborhoods, keeps housing affordable, and provides more transportation choices. He is the past Executive Director of the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, has worked for the National Performance Review under Vice President Gore, as a lawyer and senior advisor to the US Environmental Protection Agency, and practiced law for the firm Ropes & Gray. Hawkins graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. Hawkins teaches ENV 306, Environmental Law and Moot Court.

Deborah E. Popper, Ph.D.
Visiting Lecturer
Deborah E. Popper teaches geography at the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island, where she also participates in the environmental science, international studies, and American studies programs. With her husband Frank Popper of Rutgers University, she has analyzed the American Great Plains and invented the concept of the Buffalo Commons, a way to inhabit the region’s rural areas in a sustainable manner. Their ideas about the future of the Great Plains region have stimulated a national debate. The Poppers’ Great Plains work was the subject of Anne Matthews’ book Where the Buffalo Roam (1992), one of four finalists for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction; a second edition of the book was published in 2002. In 1997 the Poppers received the American Geographical Society’s Paul P. Vouras Medal for regional geography for their work on the Great Plains. Professor Popper is a visiting lecturer for the Environmental Studies Program and co-teaches ENV 305, American Regional Planning.

Frank J. Popper, Ph.D.
Visiting Lecturer
Frank J. Popper teaches in the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, where he also participates in the Geography and American Studies Departments. He is author of The President's Commissions (1970) and The Politics of Land-Use Reform (1981), coauthor of Urban Nongrowth: City Planning for People (1976), and coeditor of Land Reform, American Style (1984) and The Buffalo Commons and the Future of the Great Plains (Liveoak Editions: forthcoming). Before entering academic life by coming to Rutgers in 1983, Professor Popper was a Gilbert White Fellow at Resources for the Future in Washington, DC. He has been a land-use consultant to numerous government agencies, corporations, nonprofit groups, film companies and universities. A graduate of Haverford College, he has a master’s degree in public administration and a doctorate in political science, both from Harvard University. Professor Popper is a visiting lecturer for the Environmental Studies Program and co-teaches ENV 305, American Regional Planning.