Faculty research focuses

Faculty member	Research focus
Nina L. Bassuk Professor and Director of the Urban Horticulture Institute	Looking for tough trees to enrich urban landscapes and studying practices that can help them thrive. Developed CU Structural Soil.
Taryn Bauerle Assistant Professor	Root biology.
Robin R. Bellinder Professor	Weed science. Exploratory research on existing and new herbicides to inform registration process. Cultivation, alternative cropping and mulch management to reduce herbicide use. Weed management in developing countries.
Mark P. Bridgen Professor and Director of the Long Island Horticulture Research & Extension Center, Riverhead, N.Y.	Breeding, propagating, and evaluating new ornamental plants using traditional and in vitro techniques.
Lori J. Bushway Senior Extension Associate	Engaging youth, educators, Citizen Scientists and others in garden-based learning programs. Outreach to commercial berry growers in berry crop culture.
Lailiang Cheng Associate Professor	Fruit crop physiology. Investigating carbon assimilation and metabolism, nutrition and stress physiology of fruit crops.
Laurie Drinkwater Associate Professor	Agroecology. Research focuses on soil organic matter dynamics, nutrient cycling and plant-microbial interactions.
Marcia Eames-Sheavly Senior Extension Associate	Using horticulture as an avenue to social, youth, and community development. Program leader for the youth garden-based learning program. Teaches The Art of Horticulture, and Integrating Horticulture with Youth Development.
Susheng Gan Associate Professor	Molecular biology. Researching the regulatory mechanisms of plant senescence to increase yields and enhance postharvest performance.
Neil Mattson Assistant Professor	Plant physiology and development in ornamental greenhouse crop production, including nutrient management strategies to reduce inputs and mitigate runoff from horticultural facilities.
Donald E. Halseth Associate Professor	Evaluating production practices and varieties of potatoes and dry beans for disease and insect resistance and processing characteristics.
Ian A. Merwin Professor	Fruit science and production systems. Orchard agroecology, integrated soil/weed management, biocontrol of soilborne fruit-tree diseases, alternative fruit crops, fermented cider apple varieties.
William B. Miller Professor	Floriculture & flower bulb physiology. Greenhouse production, postharvest physiology and landscape use of bulbous and perennial plants and flowers, as well as their carbohydrate metabolism, partitioning, and use of stored reserves.
Jane Mt. Pleasant Associate Professor and Director of Cornell's American Indian Program	Studying plants and human well-being and indigenous agricultural systems.
Kenneth W. Mudge Associate Professor	Plant propagation, medicinal herb production, agroforestry and forest farming, horticultural distance education.
A. Martin Petrovic Professor	Turfgrass science. Researching best management practices to reduce pesticide and fertilizer contamination of surface- and groundwater.
Marvin P. Pritts Professor & Chair	Researching ecological and cultural weed and pest control, season extension, and nutrient management in berry crops.
Donald A. Rakow Associate Professor and Elizabeth Newman Wilds Director of Cornell Plantations	Coordinating MPS program and undergraduate course in public garden management. Research interests include history of gardens and garden design, and relationship between people, nature, and horticulture.
Anu Rangarajan Associate Professor and Director of Cornell's Small Farm Program	Statewide specialist for Fresh Market Vegetable Production. Investigating sustainable production practices and developing alternative vegetable crops.
Frank S. Rossi Associate Professor	Cornell Turfgrass Team Leader. Developing environmentally sound practices for home lawns, athletic fields and golf courses.
Justine Vanden Heuvel Assistant Professor	Viticulture, including cultural practices and physiology affecting development of flavors and aromas in wine grapes, with a particular emphasis on production/degradation of these compounds in cool climates..
Chris B. Watkins Professor and Associate Director for Cornell Cooperative Extension	Fundamental and applied research and extension on fruit maturity, ripening, and storage, with emphasis on fruit responses to atmosphere, temperature and other factors that influence senescence and ripening.
Thomas H. Whitlow Associate Professor	Studying physiological ecology of trees under stress, urban and restoration ecology, particulate filtration by trees, and novel low input crops.
H. Chris Wien Professor	Vegetable and flower physiology. Investigating physiological disorders and fruit set, reaction of cut flower species to environmental factors including daylength African horticulture.
David W. Wolfe Professor	Environmental physiology, soil and water management. Investigating plant stress, soil ecology, soil and water management, and policy issues related to climate change and agriculture.