Research Interests:
Cretaceous and Cenozoic Plants from the Northern Hemisphere;
Paleo-ecological, -geographical, and -climatological reconstructions based on fossil plants;
Foliar and fruit/seed anatomy of fossil and living seed plants;
Micromorphology of fossil and modern pollen and spores;
Historical biogeography of selected seed plants (e.g., East Asian endemics, East Asian-Southeast North American disjuncts).
Grants (All as PI, unless otherwise indicated)
2008.
1). NSF OIA Major Research Instrumentation - MRI: Development of Multiuse Electron Microscopy Facility at East Tennessee State University: Scanning Electron Microscopy. (Co-PI. $360,478.00. Submitted Jan. 23, 2008. Pending)
2). Research Development Committee Major Research Grants, Office of Research and Sponsor Program, East Tennessee State University - Chemical Studies of Biomarkers in the Fossil Plants from the Gray Fossil Site, Tennessee. (Co-PI. $9,000.00. Submitted Feb. 01, 2008. Awarded May 09, 2008)
2007.
1). NSF CAREER Program (five-year grant 2008-2013) - CAREER: Exploring the Neogene Plant Record of Global Vegetational and Climatic Changes in eastern North America – Research and Education Program ($421,657.00. Submitted July 16, 2007. Awarded April 23, 2008.)
2). National Geographical Society, Washington D.C. - Palecoecology of the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene Flora from Gray, Tennessee, southeastern North America ($15,000.00. Awarded. June 05,2007)
3). Research Development Committee Major Research Grants, Office of Research and Sponsor Program, East Tennessee State University - Systematics of fossil seed plants from a unique late Tertiary flora in northeast Tennessee and its biogeographic significance ($9,000.00. Awarded. Aug. 13, 2007)
4). Network Research Grants, Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior - Genetic and morphological diversity in Carolina hemlock populations (Co-PI. $2,000.00. Awarded March 16, 2007)
5). Research Development Committee Small Grants, Office of Research and Sponsor Program, East Tennessee State University - Comparisons of the 7-4.5 million years old fossil fruits/seeds from the Gray Fossil Site, northeast Tennessee with the modern fruits/seeds housed at Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum ($1,200.00. Awarded March 22, 2007)
2005.
1). University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Personnel Development Committee Grants. - Palynological investigation of the Late Miocene flora from Gray, Tennessee. ($3,000.00. Awarded Oct. 26, 2005).
2004.
1). NSF DUE CCLI-Adaptation and Implementation - SEM in the Classroom: Creating a Student-Centered SEM Stereo Biological Imaging Resource (SSBIR) for Teaching and Research. (Co-PI. $74,300.00. Submitted Nov. 29, 2004. Awarded Aug. 30, 2005.)
2). University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Personnel Development Committee Grants - Arctic Plant Fossils and their Paleoclimatic and Paleobio-geographic Significances. ($3,620.00. Awarded Oct. 01, 2004).
2003.
1). University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point IT minigrants - Database Management on Fossil Plant Collection. ($477.00. Awarded Nov. 1, 2003. FileMaker Pro. 6.0 program purchased and installed. Collections Database structure design done).
2). University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Personnel Development Committee Grants - Systematic anatomy of Cycas leaves. ($1,700.00. Awarded Oct. 10, 2003).
3). Undergraduate Education Initiative Grants, College of Letters and Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point - Request of plant fossil collection tools and lab chemicals. ($1,500.00. Awarded Oct. 01, 2003).
2002.
1). NSF DBI Biological Research Collections - Relocation and Rehousing of Paleobotanical Collections at the Field Museum. ($360,000.00. Submitted July 19, 2002. Declined due to similar request 4 years before – Jan. 17, 2003).
Lab (update May 2, 2008)
Research projects (currently I am working on the following fossil fruits/seeds from the Gray Fossil Site. This involves with both graduates and undergraduates):
Carya nuts
Quercus acorns
Vitis endocarps (Vitaceae)
Sinomenium endocarps (Menispermaceae)
With Dr. Steve Wallace at the Gray Fossil Site (May 2006)