Profile of Dr. Philip Robertson

Michigan State University
W.K. Kellogg Biological Station
3700 E Gull Lake Dr.
Hickory Corners, MI 49060
Phone: (269) 671-2267
robertson@kbs.msu.edu

Education: Ph.D. Biology, Indiana University, 1980

Current position: Professor of Ecosystem Science, Dept. Crop and Soil Science, Michigan State University

Since 1988, Dr. Robertson has directed the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program in Agricultural Ecology at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, where he is a resident faculty.  He currently serves as chair of the U.S. LTER Network’s Science Council and Executive Board.  He is also the program leader for sustainability in the Department of Energy’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center.

Dr. Robertson’s research interests include the biogeochemistry and ecology of field crop ecosystems, including biofuel systems, and in particular nitrogen and carbon dynamics, greenhouse gas fluxes, and the functional significance of microbial diversity in these systems. He teaches undergraduate courses in Agricultural Ecology, Biogeochemistry, and Soil Biology.

His service includes past membership on the U.S. Carbon Cycle Scientific Steering Committee, chairmanships of competitive grants panels at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (the National Research Initiative and Fund for Rural America Programs), and membership on several  NSF panels in the Biological and Geosciences directorates. He served on the National Research Council Committee to Evaluate the USDA NRI Program (1998-1999), and chaired the Environment Subcommittee of the NRC Committee on Opportunities in Agriculture (2000-2002). In 2005, he received Michigan State University’s Distinguished Faculty award.