Amy J. Burgin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences
238 Oelman Hall
Wright State University
3640 Colonel Glenn Highway
Dayton, OH 45435

E-mail:
Office phone: (937) 775-4930
Lab website: http://sites.google.com/site/burginlab/home

Dept phone: (937) 775-2201
Dept fax: (937) 775-4997

Courses Taught
(Under development)

• Global Biogeochemical Cycles (Fall)
• Environmental Microbiology (Spring, even years)
• Effective Scientific Communication (Spring, odd years)

Research

Dr. Burgin earned a Ph.D. Zoology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, Michigan State University and W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, MI in 2007. She was a postdoctoral scholar at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, NY, prior to joining Wright State University as an assistant professor in September 2009. Dr.  Burgin's research integrates across the fields of microbial ecology, biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology.  Microbial community composition and biogeochemical cycling regulate ecosystem functions such as primary productivity, nutrient availability, and carbon flux; thus, the three fields are closely intertwined.  This interdisciplinary research draws on skills in analytical chemistry, microbiological assays, and molecular techniques to better understand how microbes control ecosystem-level nutrient fluxes.  Her research increases our understanding of how microbes interact with their environment to affect biogeochemical cycles, and it has valuable connections to environmental concerns including global change, the effects of land-use change on aquatic ecosystems and aquatic eutrophication.