Principal Investigator
Rebecca Montgomery
I am a Professor in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota. I did my bachelor’s in Biology at Occidental College, my Ph.D. in Ecology at the University of Connecticut and a post-doc at University of Wisconsin-Madison. I grew up in the upper Midwest, traveled far and wide for college, graduate school and career and then returned to Mni Sota Makoce in 2003, joining the Forest Resources faculty in 2004. I have a spouse in academia, two awesome kids, and two tiny dogs, all of which makes life a bit hectic at times. I loves sharing my enthusiasm for science with others and bringing a sense of wonder to a field that is often perceived as dry, boring, and the realm of experts.
Post-docs/Researchers/Staff
Claudia Nanninga
I am interested in the impact of global climate change on temperate and boreal forest ecosystems, especially how altered temperature regimes will impact southern and northern range limits. My PhD researched focused on the impact of temperature on the phenology of trees. I am also passionate about ecosystem restoration. In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, downhill skiing, and hanging out with my kids and dogs.
Anna Yang
My research focuses on the management and long-term impacts of forest diseases in the Lake States. I hold a M.S. in Plant Pathology and a Ph. D. in Forest Ecology. I am particularly interested in how oak wilt, a devastating disease on oaks, influences forest succession and affects oak regeneration. One of the things that I love about my research is that the scale varies from DNA all the way to whole forests. I spend most of my spare time wrangling my kids, but I also love to read and cook when I find the time.
Graduate Students
Erin Clark
I received my masters at the University of Maine studying growth and mortality in old growth forests. I joined the Montgomery lab in Fall 2023 after working in the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center's Biogeochemistry Lab. Co-advised by Rob Slesak, I am now studying the ecological impacts of invasive emerald ash borer on black ash dominated wetlands of northern Minnesota. When I am not traipsing through the forest, I love gardening and eating pizza.
Catherine Glenn-Stone
I am currently a graduate student in the Natural Resources Science and Management program at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, co-advised by Dr. Rebecca Montgomery and Dr. Marcella Windmuller-Campione. My graduate research focuses on assessing the physiological responses of trees in floodplain forests impacted by emerald ash borer, Dutch elm disease, and a changing climate to inform future forest management practices.
Erica Houser
I graduated from the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology in May 2023 and joined the Montgomery lab as field tech and lab manager. In Fall 2024, I started a Ph.D. program in Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. I am interested in forest ecology, plant-microbe interactions, and how math and computing can be applied to answer biological questions. I am originally from the Black Hills of South Dakota, and in my free time I enjoy drawing plants and fungi, biking, and learning sick skateboard tricks (or just falling a lot).
Emma Smoll
I got my BA in biology from Willamette University in 2020. I am currently pursuing my MS and investigating the effects of abiotic environmental factors on seedling regeneration in Upper Mississippi River floodplain forests. I love to be in the woods and am probably knitting right now.