People

Photo of Joan Edwards

Joan Edwards

Ph.D. Biology
Joan Edwards’ study of the population dynamics of the invasive plant, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata), continued into 2000. Student assistants continued collecting data on established plots in three different areas in Hopkins Forest. By analyzing these data over a number of years, Dr. Edwards aims to gain insight into garlic mustard’s success in forests of different ages, its rate of invasion, and its effects on native flora. 2013, Dr. Edwards established a study of the effects of differential mowing regimes on native late-season wildflowers and their pollinators in Hopkins Forest. email

Photo of Manuel Morales

Manuel Morales

Ph.D. Biology and Chair of the Hopkins Forest Users Committee.
Dr. Morales is interested in the symbiotic relationships between homopterans and ants in goldenrod communities. For the last several years he has been exploring these relationships in fields within Hopkins Forest.  Dr. Morales teaches Communities and Ecosystems (BIOL 312). email

Allison Gill

Ph.D. Biology

Professor Gill, an Ecosystem Ecologist, studies the role that different nutrients, most notably nitrogen, play in the dynamics of carbon cycling and sequestration in temperate forests.  To this end she has established a long-term field study, which includes forty-eight plots over two distinct areas in the forest.  Her Ecology class (BIOL 203) visits the forest regularly for field investigations. email

 Mea Cook

Mea S. Cook

Ph.D. Geosciences

Dr. Cook studies the role of the ocean in natural climate changes, reconstructing past ocean circulation and productivity using marine sediments.  Closer to home she has begun to investigate trophic level inter-relatedness  within terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems in Hopkins Forest through stable isotope analysis.  Her Geochemistry class (GEOS 405) makes use of the Forest to this end. email

Scott Lewis

Director of Williams Outing Club
Mr. Lewis is involved in the Hopkins Forest primarily as a recreational resource. He, along with the student members of the Williams Outing Club, conduct recreational and educational programs in the forest; under his purview are a cabin and lean-to. email

Jay Racela

Lab Supervisor & Lecturer–Environmental Analysis Lab
As the Technical Assistant for the Environmental Analysis Lab, Jay is charged with data retrieval and upkeep of the Forest’s four weather stations and two stream gauging stations. Jay is also responsible for chemical and quantitative analysis and management of those data. email

Drew Jones

Manager of Hopkins Forest
Drew came to Williams to manage Hopkins Forest in the summer of 1999. In addition to his managerial responsibilities, and with a background in wildlife biology, Drew is interested in the issues of biodiversity within the forest. email

Photo of Henry Art

Henry Art

Ph.D. Biology Emeritus
Dr. Art’s research involves the investigation of long-term changes in the various plant communities in the Hopkins Forest, and the extent to which natural and human-use disturbances have played a role in shaping the present patterns of these communities and ecosystems. This study has involved the collection of data from a grid of permanent monitoring plots initiated in 1935 by the U.S. Forest Service when they operated the facility. Deed history, oral history, and other socioeconomic data have complemented the ecological data bases on the Hopkins Forest.  email

David Dethier

Ph.D. Geosciences Emeritus

Professor Dethier revitalized the meteorogical and hydrological monitoring program (originally established by the U.S. Forest Service in the 1930s) in the Hopkins Forest shortly after his arrival at Williams in 1983. There, in addition to standard quantitative parameters, Dethier and his staff monitor precipitation and stream chemistry as well. Additionally, he studies sediment transport within the Birch Brook system, the Forest’s main watershed, and has done a good deal on local glacial geology and groundwater and has investigated the effects of acid rain on New England soils.  email