Areas of Expertise
Researchers at the Odum School of Ecology are addressing today's pressing and complex issues, from global climate change to water policy to infectious diseases - and much more. With expertise in areas including ecosystems, disease, conservation and aquatics, Odum School faculty are at the forefront of cutting-edge research.
There are many experts in a variety of fields at the Odum School, but there are five core research areas that we are especially known for:
Infectious diseases
Ecosystem ecology/Biogeochemistry
Aquatics/Watershed ecology
Evolutionary ecology/Biogeography
Sustainability
Faculty with expertise in these areas are noted below:
Infectious diseases:
Sonia Altizer
Jeb Byers
Ron Carroll
Andy Davis
John Drake
Vanessa Ezenwa
John Gittleman
Richard Hall
Andrew Park
Jim Porter
Ecosystem ecology/Biogeochemistry:
Gary Barrett
Miguel Cabrera
Ron Carroll
Alan Covich
Bud Freeman
Jacqueline Mohan
Bernie Patten
Cathy Pringle
Amy Rosemond
Nina Wurzburger
Aquatics/Watershed ecology:
Jeb Byers
Ron Carroll
Alan Covich
John Drake
Bill Fitt
Laurie Fowler
Bud Freeman
Bernie Patten
Jim Porter
Cathy Pringle
Amy Rosemond
Evolutionary ecology/Biogeography:
Sonia Altizer
Jeb Byers
Andy Davis
Bud Freeman
Vanessa Ezenwa
John Gittleman
Jacqueline Mohan
Junko Nagata
Andrew Park
John Pickering
Jim Porter
Cathy Pringle
Rich Shefferson
Sustainability:
Gary Barrett
Ron Carroll
Laurie Fowler
Bud Freeman
Cathy Pringle
EUGENE ODUM, PIONEER OF MODERN ECOLOGY
Dr. Odum, widely regarded as “the father of modern ecology,” founded the University of Georgia’s Institute of Ecology as well as the Marine Institute on Sapelo Island. He also wrote Fundamentals of Ecology, one of the first textbooks on the subject that was first published in 1953 and still used in universities. Dr. Odum argued that the earth is a series of interlocking environmental communities, or ecosystems and is often credited with making the term "ecosystem" a household word.
