Mike earned his B.S. in forest biology from Penn State University and an M.S and Ph.D. from Virginia Tech. Academic interests include understanding the impact of land-use change and climate change on ecosystem carbon cycling, restoration ecology, and disturbance ecology. Mike has formally taught dendrology (tree id) over the last five years while teaching at Louisiana Tech University. Additionally, Mike has participated in a number of community outreach opportunities using tree identification as a tool to generate interest in natural resource conservation.