People

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    Michael J. Cramer

    Assistant Director

    Michael J. Cramer

    Assistant Director

    Michael Cramer has been the Assistant Director for UNDERC-East since 2007. He oversees the Practicum in Field Environmental Biology, East, and teaches the Vertebrate Ecology module. He also mentors students on studies of small mammal ecology and behavior. His research focuses on foraging behavior of small mammals, the effects of predation risk on small mammal behavior, and the long-term effects of climate change on small mammal populations, especially deer mice (genus Peromyscus). 

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    Sherry DePoy

    Administrative Assistant

    Sherry DePoy

    Administrative Assistant

    Sherry DePoy has been the administrative assistant at UNDERC since 2015. She has been at Notre Dame for 39 years, previously working within Chemical Engineering, General Counsel, and Student Accounts.  In 2018, Sherry received the REF (Responsive, Effective, and Friendly) Award from Notre Dame Research.

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    Donna McClelland

    Hospitality Program Manager, Land O'Lakes

    Donna McClelland

    Hospitality Program Manager, Land O'Lakes

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    Matt McClelland

    Property Manager, Land O'Lakes

    Matt McClelland

    Property Manager, Land O'Lakes

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    Alyssa Rausch

    Research Technician

    Alyssa Rausch

    Research Technician

    Alyssa Rausch joined Notre Dame Research in the beginning of 2023 as a Research Technician for The University of Notre Dame’s Environmental Research Center (UNDERC). For six months of the year, she supports students in diverse research projects at Notre Dame’s biological research station located in northern Wisconsin. She further assists in field monitoring, data collection, and interpretation of analytical and evaluative research data. Alyssa is a 2019 graduate of Albion College, with a B.A. in Environmental Studies, Spanish, Anthropology, and Sociology. While pursuing her degree, she attended the School for Field Studies located in Costa Rica. In the Escazú mountains, she assisted in ecological research to better understand how altered environments from human impact negatively affect bird diversity. Following graduation, she served as an AmeriCorps volunteer for the Tongass National Forest in Juneau, Alaska. In 2022, she received her M.Sc. in Ecosystem Science and Management at the University of Michigan - School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). She completed her master’s research in Costa Rica while working for Coopedota R.L., a coffee cooperative. The research was centered around the concepts of carbon sequestration and biomass gasification. She is passionate about conservation and sustainability and looks forward to supporting, participating in, and learning from the research UNDERC has to offer.

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    Nathan Swenson

    Faculty Director

    Nathan Swenson

    Faculty Director

    Nathan Swenson is the Gillen Director of the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center and a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Swenson completed his undergraduate degree at St. Olaf College before going on to complete his masters of science at New Mexico State University. His PhD, from the University of Arizona, was in ecology and evolutionary biology with a focus on global change. Swenson then went to Harvard University to complete a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellowship. He joined Notre Dame in 2021.

    His research ​studies woody plant ecology and evolution in a dynamic world. Specifically, his research group leverages information regarding intra- and inter-specific variation in tree performance to understand and predict the past, present and future distribution of forest biodiversity. In pursuit of these research goals, the group follows two guiding principles. First, the team believes that the grand challenges facing scientists today require integrative approaches that draw from the concepts and techniques from many fields. The team achieves this within the lab by attempting to tackle problems from genomes to forest canopies. Second, the research approach necessitates the collection and analysis of large datasets that document the distribution and dynamics of plant species on a global-scale. These data allow the team to quantify the drivers of tree distributions and demography, which is an essential step for predicting the fate of individual species and forests in the future