Faculty
Dr. Julia I. Burton
Associate Professor
College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Dr.
Houghton, MI 49931
jiburton(at)mtu.edu
Google Scholar
ResearchGate
Graduate students
Claudia Bartlick - PhD Candidate
cbartlic(at)mtu.edu
Claudia is pursuing a Ph.D. in Forest Science at Michigan Tech and is co-advised by Christopher Webster and Julia Burton. She previously studied Biology with a focus on plant ecophysiology at the University of Kiel, Germany and earned her M.Sc. in 2018. Her Ph.D. research focuses on processes limiting tree regeneration in northern hardwood forests. Claudia collected ground-layer data sets over a gradient of different regeneration methods and site preparation treatments at the Norther Hardwood Silviculture Experiment to Enhance Diversity (NH SEED). Yvette Dickinson and Robert Froese are collaboraing on this research.
cbartlic(at)mtu.edu
Claudia is pursuing a Ph.D. in Forest Science at Michigan Tech and is co-advised by Christopher Webster and Julia Burton. She previously studied Biology with a focus on plant ecophysiology at the University of Kiel, Germany and earned her M.Sc. in 2018. Her Ph.D. research focuses on processes limiting tree regeneration in northern hardwood forests. Claudia collected ground-layer data sets over a gradient of different regeneration methods and site preparation treatments at the Norther Hardwood Silviculture Experiment to Enhance Diversity (NH SEED). Yvette Dickinson and Robert Froese are collaboraing on this research.
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Tessa Meyer - MS Candidate
tkmeyer(at)mtu.edu Tessa is pursuing a M.S. in Applied Ecology at Michigan Tech and is co-advised by Julia Burton and Evan Kane. Her research focuses on the effects of silvicultural treatments on woody biomass inputs to soil in relation to soil carbon stores. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Tech in the Spring of 2023. |
Adam Milenkowic - MS Candidate
azmilenk(at)mtu.edu
Adam is pursuing a M.S. in Forest Ecology and Management at Michigan Tech. His research will focus on the hemlock and maple dominated old-growth systems in the Porcupine Mountains. He has re-inventoried eight long-term research plots established by Lee Frelich in 1981 and is preparing to deploy microclimate sensors to study the understory microclimate beneath varying hardwood and hemlock overstories. Adam has a fondness for traditional woodworking, and takes inspiration from George Nakashima and Bernie Weisgerber.
azmilenk(at)mtu.edu
Adam is pursuing a M.S. in Forest Ecology and Management at Michigan Tech. His research will focus on the hemlock and maple dominated old-growth systems in the Porcupine Mountains. He has re-inventoried eight long-term research plots established by Lee Frelich in 1981 and is preparing to deploy microclimate sensors to study the understory microclimate beneath varying hardwood and hemlock overstories. Adam has a fondness for traditional woodworking, and takes inspiration from George Nakashima and Bernie Weisgerber.
Leah Prudent - MS Candidate
lprudent(at)esf.edu
Leah is pursuing a M.S. degree in Sustainable Resources at SUNY ESF. She is co-advised by Martin Dovciak and Julia Burton. Her research focuses on examining regeneration dynamics and trait-based patterns of ground-layer plant communities along elevational gradients in the northeastern US. She earned her B.A. from the University of Minnesota.
lprudent(at)esf.edu
Leah is pursuing a M.S. degree in Sustainable Resources at SUNY ESF. She is co-advised by Martin Dovciak and Julia Burton. Her research focuses on examining regeneration dynamics and trait-based patterns of ground-layer plant communities along elevational gradients in the northeastern US. She earned her B.A. from the University of Minnesota.
Keenan Rivers - Ph.D. Student
krivers(at)mtu.edu
Keenan is pursuing a Ph.D. in Forest Science at Michigan Tech. He recently earned a M.S. in Sustainable Resources at SUNY ESF (co-advised by Julia Burton and John Drake). Keenan’s research involves studying beech in northern hardwood forests. He is using understory and overstory data sets from the Adirondacks and Central New York to better understand the spatial relationships between beech and understory communities within northern hardwood forests. During his undergraduate studies Keenan worked as a technician in a forest ecology lab at the University of Connecticut, using dendrochronological techniques to study gypsy moth disturbance in southern New England. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources at the University of Connecticut in the Spring of 2020.
krivers(at)mtu.edu
Keenan is pursuing a Ph.D. in Forest Science at Michigan Tech. He recently earned a M.S. in Sustainable Resources at SUNY ESF (co-advised by Julia Burton and John Drake). Keenan’s research involves studying beech in northern hardwood forests. He is using understory and overstory data sets from the Adirondacks and Central New York to better understand the spatial relationships between beech and understory communities within northern hardwood forests. During his undergraduate studies Keenan worked as a technician in a forest ecology lab at the University of Connecticut, using dendrochronological techniques to study gypsy moth disturbance in southern New England. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources at the University of Connecticut in the Spring of 2020.
Research technicians
Melina Hurin 2022-2023
Madi Baerlocker 2022-2023
Madi Baerlocker 2022-2023
Shawna Carr 2022-2023
Shawna Carr 2022-2023
Garrett Kucharski 2022-2022
Michael Becue 2020-2021
Madeleine Desrochers 2019
Jennifer Kotary 2019
Matthew Murray 2020-2021
Ethan Smith 2020-2021
Jordan Westrick 2019
Alumni
Keenan Rivers
MS 2020-2022
MS 2020-2022
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Garrett Evans gevans02(at)syr.edu M.S. 2020-2022 Garrett earned an M.S. in Sustainable Resources at SUNY ESF and was co-advised by Dr. John Drake. Garrett's research focused on evaluating silvicultural strategies for restoring American chestnut in oak-hickory forests. Garrett holds a B.S. in Forest Ecosystem Management from Pennsylvania State University. Matthew Hecking
[email protected] M.S. 2019-2021 Matthew earned an M.S. in Forest Resources Management at SUNY ESF. For his thesis, Matthew assembled a trait database for northeastern forest ecosystems and conducted trait-based analyses of forest communities along gradients in climate and elevation. Matthew was previously a laboratory manager in the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University. He has worked as a technician in the US Forest Service to investigate the recovery forest ecosystems following California megafires. Matthew also completed an internship at Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and independent research as an undergraduate. He earned his Bachelor's degree at Hampshire College in 2017. Matthew now works in the Goodale Laboratory at Cornell University. |
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Elise Riley: Elise was an undergraduate student in the lab at USU (2018-2019). She is digitizing meadow plant phenology data collected by Silviculture professor T.W. Daniel in the 1960s. She is now finishing the project in collaboration with Dr. Kari Veblen at USU and Julia.
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Jessika Pettit M.S. 2016-2018 (Co-advised with Steve Voelker at Utah State University) |
Sierra Oxborrow: Sierra worked in the lab during the spring semester of 2017. She helped primarily with the characterization of the cultural values of understory plant species. But, she is a Veteran of the U.S. Navy and thus capably handles every imaginable task thrown at her from the Burton and Voelker Labs.
