Learn about the latest achievements and transitions for our College of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences faculty and staff, along an update on one of our most valuable resources: our CFRES advisory board.
Faculty Achievements
During the May Michigan Tech Board of Trustees meeting, Kristin Brzeski was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor. Brzeski research spans a broad range of mammal genetics, including red wolves, as well as work with birds in the tropics and other vertebrates in North America.
For the last two academic years, both Carsten Külheim, associate professor, and Mickey Jarvi, assistant teaching professor, have been finalists for Michigan Tech's Distinguished Teaching Award, whose recipients are selected based largely on student evaluations. Külheim was nominated in the Associate Professor or Professor category and Jarvi in the Teaching Professor, Professor of Practice, or Assistant Professor category. These achievements mean that more than 40 percent of CFRES faculty who have been working five-plus years have won or been finalists for University-level teaching awards!
Stacy Cotey is now an assistant teaching professor, handing over her academic advising position to Kat Hanson. Cotey teaches a diversity of wildlife-related classes, including a new wildlife-focused capstone class.
Xinfeng Xie was again CFRES's highest generator of external funds to support his research related to wood protection and wood science. Xie works closely with Mark Rudnicki to grow the College's portfolio of mass timber and cross-laminated timber research and commercialization efforts.
Julia Burton, associate professor of silviculture, was selected by the dean for the Dean's Teaching Showcase. Burton has shown a determination to be the best instructor she can be by challenging herself to incorporate creative ways of allowing students to understand, engage, and leave her class with information that will be critical to their professional success. She has demonstrated this in a way that serves as a model for others teaching at Michigan Tech.
Molly Cavaleri and Andy Burton assumed associate dean roles in CFRES following the appointment of David Flaspohler as dean of the College on July 1, 2024. Burton supports efforts to grow the CFRES
research program while Cavaleri coordinates our graduate programs.
Advisory Board
CFRES alumna Brenda Haskill of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), who has generously served on the CFRES advisory board for over 10 years, has stepped down to devote time to other personal and professional efforts. She earned a BS in Forest Management from Michigan Tech in 1993. We thank her for her many valuable contributions to our College and look forward to her continued contributions through Michigan Society of American Foresters (SAF) and her DNR connections.
We're happy to announce that Michigan DNR Natural Resources Deputy Shannon Lott has agreed to join the CFRES advisory board. Lott has more than 20 years of experience with the department, including work in the field and in administration. In December 2022, she was named acting director of the DNR by Governor Gretchen Whitmer and served in that role for eight months, from January through August 2023. In September 2023, she resumed her role as natural resources deputy, a position she has held since April 2019. Lott credits her early fieldwork with giving her the broad experience and perspective needed to effectively oversee Michigan's natural and cultural resources.
New Faculty
Ecologist and hydrologist Kathryn Hofmeister joined CFRES in August as a new assistant teaching professor. Hofmeister earned her MS and PhD degrees at Cornell University and will teach Field Techniques, Biometrics, and Forest Economics, among other classes. She has been an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for the last two years.
Parth Bhatt joined CFRES in January 2023 after earning his PhD the month before. Bhatt has worked with other GIS faculty to develop three new online GIS stackable certificates that allow working professionals to earn a master's degree fully remotely. He also developed a short course focused on using the software platform Python in a GIS environment.
Kat Hanson joined CFRES as our new academic advisor in January 2024. Hanson had been working for the University's financial aid office and oversaw the transfer process for nursing students moving from Finlandia University to the new Michigan Tech nursing program. She brings a strong competence and caring approach to her work helping guide undergraduates through their curriculum.
Sarah Hoy began a new appointment as a tenure-track assistant professor in CFRES as of August 2024. Hoy co-leads the Isle Royale wolf-moose research project and will teach Natural Resource Communication as well as Graduate Research Methods.
Jim Tolan began his duties as manager of operations of the Ford Center in early 2024, coming from a similar position at Hiram College's field station. In addition to that experience, Tolan brings a commitment to enhancing the student and visitor experience to his role at the Ford Center. He and his wife Juliane make their home in Alberta.
Departing Faculty
After 25 years of contributing to the teaching and research mission of CFRES, Assistant Teaching Professor Chris Miller retired in June. Chris taught foundational classes for many majors, including Field Techniques, Biometrics, Wildland Fire, and Forest Economics. A deeply committed teacher who always put student needs first, Chris would devote extra time to help struggling students understand and synthesize course material. Dozens of students attended his farewell celebration in April, joining the many grateful CFRES alumni who can thank Chris for his dedication to furthering their education and careers.
Jen Sanders is leaving her position as coordinator of the molecular research labs to take on the role of editor for a medical firm in New England. She will remain in Houghton and work remotely.
After more than a decade at MTU, Paul Doskey retired in 2023. Doskey was part of an environmental science cluster hire, coming to MTU from Argonne National Laboratory. He conducted research and taught in the fields of atmospheric chemistry, sustainability, and soil science.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
