|
 |
Donald Zak
Burton V. Barnes Collegiate Professor
Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1987
U-M affiliations
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
School of Natural Resources and Environment
Contact information
University of Michigan
2540 Dana Bldg.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1115
Phone: (734) 763-4991
Fax: (734) 936-2195
Email: drzak@umich.edu
|
|
|
|
Fields of study
Microbial ecology and ecosystem ecology
Academic background
I received my Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1987, and I conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota (1988). I have been at the University of Michigan since 1988, and I have been an associate editor for Ecology, Ecological Monographs, and Soil Science Society of America Journal.
Zak Lab
Graduate students
Sarah Eisenlord, John Hassett, Huijie Gan, Dana Thomas
Postdoctoral fellows
Ivan Edwards, Kirsten Hofmockel, Harald Kellner
News
Zak awarded Collegiate Professorship
Don Zak has been named Burton V. Barnes Collegiate Professor in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, effective September 1, 2009. He is also a professor in EEB and an adjunct professor in Geological Sciences.
Barnes, a U-M professor emeritus, is a world-renowned forest ecologist who worked to understand the biology and ecology of forests over a career that spans multiple decades. “I’ve always believed that ecological ideas should be tested through field research and experimentation, and that, in turn, should be integrated into a teaching program. I’ve been inspired by Burt’s ability to do that seamlessly – it’s something I aspired to achieve.”
During his undergraduate education, Zak took an ecology course that required Barnes’ book “Forest Ecology” and remembers thinking, “this is something I want to do.” Zak co-authored the latest edition of the text, which he uses in his class Soil Ecology. He teaches the course this semester, and spends two afternoons in the field teaching students. Zak recently received the highest award given by the Soil Science Society of America for work in soil biology and biochemistry, the Francis Clark Distinguished Lectureship; he will deliver the lecture on November 3, 2009 during the Society’s Annual Meeting. He also received the 2006-2007 Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award from SNRE students.
Zak received his doctoral degree from Michigan State University in 1987, and completed a postdoc at the University of Minnesota. His work centers on understanding how composition is linked to function in soil microbial communities and how those links influence the flow of energy and cycling of elements in terrestrial ecosystems. There are thousands of microorganisms in any handful of soil that we know nothing about, he said. His research spans the gamut from molecular biology, working on gene transcription, to understanding how that can influence ecosystem processes. His work also investigates how ecological theory can be applied to microbial communities.
The professorship, which is for a five-year renewable term, is one of the highest honors the college and the university can bestow upon an eminent member of the faculty.
Zak awarded Clark Lectureship
Professor Don Zak has been awarded the Francis Clark Lectureship at the 2009 Soil Science Society of America meeting. It is the highest award given by the society for pioneering work in soil biology and biochemistry. Zak will give a lecture on November 3, 2009 at their international annual meeting November 1 – 5, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
|
|
|
