I received my Ph.D. in 2004 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I studied the environmental controls of planktonic bacterial communities in freshwater lakes. I then went to the University of North Carolina to conduct postdoctoral research with Dr. Hans Paerl. At North Carolina, I studied microbial communities that bring new carbon and new nitrogen into a shallow Bahamian lagoon where summertime salinity can be ten times that of seawater. A central part of this research involved relating the changes in microbial community structure to the environment and to the movement of matter and energy through the ecosystem, and this continues to be a central theme in my research. In 2007, I came to the University of Illinois to study soil microbial communities with Dr. Roderick Mackie. I studied soil microorganisms associated with animal agriculture as a USDA-NRI postdoctoral research, and I also studied soil microbes associated with bioenergy crops as a postdoctoral researcher with the Energy Biosciences Institute. At NRES, I will continue to study soil microbial ecology in both managed and unmanaged systems. Of particular interest to me are microbial communities that interact with plants and influence the competitive fitness of weeds, invasive species, native plants, and crops. My teaching responsibilities include core courses in ecosystem management and quantitative methods.

Anthony Yannarell