Mayer, Audrey

Dr. Audrey L. Mayer is an Assistant Professor in Ecology and Environmental Policy, with a joint appointment in School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (SFRES), and the Department of Social Sciences. (http://forest.mtu.edu/landscapelab/). She received her B.A. in Biology and Public Policy Analysis from Pomona College (Claremont, CA), and her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville. Prior to joining Michigan Tech, she was an Ecologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a Senior Researcher in Finland at the University of Tampere and the University of Helsinki.

Her teaching responsibilities include the senior “Capstone” course for forestry, wildlife, and applied ecology majors in SFRES, landscape ecology, environmental problems and policy, and sustainability science. She also teaches a Perspectives course (for first-year students), “Developing a sustainability mindset,” which is writing-intensive and emphasizes critical thinking. Apart from Capstone and Perspectives, these courses reach both undergraduate and graduate students. She is also the faculty advisor for the Global City student organization.

Dr. Mayer has an active research program that is broadly described as “sustainable landscape management,” including theoretical and applied research in landscape ecology, sustainability science, and environmental policy. She has published almost 30 peer-reviewed articles (including one in Science), 4 book chapters, 2 US Government reports, and 11 other publications including book reviews, conference proceedings, and an invited Perspectives piece in Science. She was also a guest editor of a special issue of Remote Sensing, “Remote Sensing in Support of Environmental Policy.” She has directed a postdoctoral researcher and summer graduate student interns while at the USEPA, and 3 MS students at the University of Helsinki. At Michigan Tech, she has advised one MS student in Environmental Policy, and is currently advising 2 Ph.D. students and 4 MS students enrolled in programs in either SFRES or Environmental Policy (Social Sciences). She is currently involved in research projects (as PI, co-PI or Senior Personnel) of about $931,000.

Professor Mayer was a recipient of the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards in 2011 from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities. She is a certified Senior Ecologist (through the Ecological Society of America). She was invited to participate in the United Nations Environment Programme GEO+5 report preparation as a North American regional consultant, and to present her work on urban stormwater management at a workshop for local government officials and environmental organizations in Melboune, Australia. She also serves as a Technical Advisor for the Curriculum Work Group for the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) program through the American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education.