Spring 2003
New face in the Biology Department, Dr. Julie Grossman

Julie comes to Augsburg from the University of Minnesota where she completed her Ph.D. in Soil Microbiology. Julie has a great interest in sustainable ‘eco’ agriculture and hopes through her soils research to harness the amazing diversity of microbial life below ground to help poor small-scale farmers in the developing world produce food for themselves and their families. Her dissertation research concerned soil ecology and farmer knowledge of organic coffee systems in Chiapas, Mexico, where she conducted research as a visiting investigator at El Colegio de La Frontera Sur in San Cristobal de Las Casas as a Fulbright scholar. She has also worked in farming systems research in Costa Rica, Cuba, and Honduras. As a graduate of the national Preparing Future Faculty professional development program, Julie encourages her students to apply the science they learn in the classroom to promote positive global and social change through critical thinking and community service learning projects. Spring semester she is teaching Microbiology at Augsburg.

Also see Julie's photo of the month story on nitrogen fixing bacteria in a tropical leguminous tree.