School of Biological Sciences

Thomas Allan, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
B.S. 1973, Central Michigan University
M.S. 1978, Michigan Technological University
Ph.D. 1984, University of Maine

Faculty Interaction

"Prior to my time at Lake State, my professors rarely learned students’ names and my classes often felt impersonal.  I didn’t realize how important that faculty interaction could be until I spent a few weeks here.  The personal attention is motivating, often pushing me to work harder than I would have otherwise."

-Benjamin Turschak
2010 LSSU F&W Graduate

Importance of Faculty Advising

Students at Lake Superior State University chose biology professor Ashley Moerke Ph.D. as the 2011 recipient of the university's Excellence in Academic Advising Award.

Moerke has mentored more than 35 undergraduate students on thesis projects. More than half these thesis students have presented their research at regional or national scientific meetings. She has also published more 20 scientific papers and book chapters, nine of which were authored or co-authored by LSSU undergraduates. In her role as biology professor and co-director of LSSU's Aquatic Research Laboratory, she has acquired grant funding to employ more than 30 LSSU students and provide many more with excellent hands-on experiences. She has encouraged and supported 100-plus students to attend professional scientific conferences and helped them foster professional networks.

Her former students are in graduate study or professional research positions at Michigan State University, University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, University of Florida, Idaho State University, Utah State University, Colorado State University, Central Michigan University, Northern Michigan University, and the University of Wisconsin.

Many have careers with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Michigan DNR and DEQ; state departments of fish and wildlife in California, Florida, and Wyoming; the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources; and various nature centers and watershed councils.

Senior Thesis Symposium

The senior thesis is the capstone experience for all students in the College of Natural, Mathematical and Health Sciences at LSSU. Students choose a topic, design a study, collect and analyze the data, write a scientific paper and present the information to the university community and interested members of the public. Projects typically take an entire year for the students to design and complete, and often address practical issues of local biological and environmental concerns. Read more...

Focused on Student Needs

Doug Laprade (right), representing the MEEMIC Foundation for the Future of Education, hands off a grant check to Lake Superior State University's Geoff Steinhart. The biology professor and his colleague, Kristin Arend, applied to the Auburn Hills-based insurance company's community foundation for funds to purchase case study-based learning materials published by the American Fisheries Society about fisheries conservation and management. The modules will be used in 11 biology class sections, perhaps even in one economics course.

Hands-on

LSSU Biology Prof. Ashley Moerke Ph.D. assists Sault Area High School Teacher Paul Pioszak in bringing a Lake Superior bottom sample aboard the Environmental Protection Agency's Lake Guardian research vessel. The two were part of a weeklong Shipboard and Shoreline Science Workshop that sought to provide teachers with new ideas in presenting science to their students. Moerke and Pioszak are shown in the St. Louis River estuary between Duluth, Minn. and Superior, Wisc. collecting benthic (bottom-dwelling) invertebrates as part of the EPA's standard monitoring protocols for the Great Lakes. (Photo courtesy of Minnesota Sea Grant) Read More...

More Than a Faculty Member

Lake Superior State University biology professor Dennis Merkel, left and wearing red, helps the Sleeseman family and friends move Joe Sleeseman, second from left, into Brady residence hall. Sleeseman, an incoming fisheries and wildlife management major from Blanchard, Mich., joined about 1,000 fellow students on campus move-in day.

Kristin Arend, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
B.A. 1996, Oberlin College
M.S. 2002, Ohio State University
Ph.D. 2008 Cornell University

Barbara I. Evans, Ph.D.

Professor
B.Sc. 1980 University of Ottawa, Canada
Ph.D. 1986 University of Kansas

Website

Jason Garvon, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
B.S. 1998, Northern Michigan University
M.S. 2001, Northern Michigan University
Ph.D. 2005, Texas A&M University - Kingsville/
      Texas A&M University

Martha Hutchens, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
B.S. 2003, Michigan State University
Ph.D. 2008, University of Michigan

Nancy Kirkpatrick, Ph.D.

Professor
B.S. 1972, Miami University
M.S. 1979, Ph.D. 1993, Miami University-Oxford, OH

Website

Li, Jun, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
B.S. 1992, Wichan University
M.S. 1995, Institute of Hydobiology
Ph.D. 2002, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Dennis Merkel, Ph.D.

Professor
B.S. 1977, MS 1983, State University of New York-Syracuse
Ph.D. 1988, Michigan State University

Ashley Moerke, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
B.S. 1996, University of Minnesota Duluth
M.S. 2000, Ph.D. 2004, University of Notre Dame

Website

Britton D. Ranson-Olson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
B.S. 1999, Lake Superior State University
M.S. 2001, Michigan Technological University
Ph.D. 2007 Oakland University

John Roese, Ph.D.

Professor
B.S. 1982, Stephen F. Austin State University
M.S. 1984, Stephen F. Austin State University
Ph.D. 1989, Texas A & M University

Website

Geoff Steinhart, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
B.S. 1993, University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.S. 1997, Utah State University
Ph.D. 2004, Ohio State University

Website

Donna White

Department Secretary (II)

Gregory Zimmerman, Ph.D.

Professor
Head, Department of Biological Sciences
B.S. 1977, Fort Hays State University
M.S. 1981, Oklahoma State University
M.S. 1983, North Dakota State University
Ph.D. 1987, Colorado State University

Website