Mission
We aim to leverage scientific drive and curiosity coupled to unique research skills to contribute to more resilient ecosystem functions, improved management capabilities and outcomes, and advancement of teaching and scholarship of systems agriculture. To achieve this, we believe it is essential to create integrative knowledge that cross cuts traditional disciplinary-silos and infect students and managers with greater appreciation of the power of the systems thinking approach.
Research Foci
Our primary research interests reside in:
complex ranch management questions, ranch management decision-making and problem solving, from a systems perspective,
grazing management systems, their soil and ecological functions and economic performance, and monitoring soil-site stability under various grazing regimes,
soil, water, and land conservation issues, especially related to working landscapes: watersheds where production agriculture, particularly rangeland and grazing environments as well as crop cultivation, intersect with dynamic socio-economic relationships and land use considerations.
Particular attention is given to understanding how biophysical and socio-economic elements feed back on one another to influence management decision-making and ecosystem functions. For specific examples of our work, please see the list of scientific publications here.
Philosophy and Approach
First, our focus is on systems thinking and simulation modeling for complex problems not easily or adequately addressed by other means. In our modeling work, we apply system dynamics methodology (and its many subdisciplines or companion methodologies) to evaluate management or policy alternatives related to agricultural, ecological, and natural resource management problems.
Second, our research efforts are dedicated to uncovering and unpacking the causal feedback mechanisms that link management decision-making with the ecological, biological, and agronomic processes embedded in agroecosystems. By focusing on this intersection, we explore how and why complex problems arise and persist despite our best efforts, and deliver insights supportive of more sustainable outcomes.
Finally, we couple systems thinking methodologies with stakeholder engagement and field-level monitoring and assessment efforts by integrating a variety of methodologies and data sources, each of which contributes in unique ways to better understanding the problem under study. By doing so, we leverage the strengths of various approaches, bridge the disciplinary divides, and produce both scientific contributions and management case studies which are interdisciplinary by nature.
To get a glimpse of the systems perspective that has changed the way I see and think about the world, take a look at my Research Philosophy Statement here.
Core Values:
Responsibility - be ready and accountable
Professional - in all communications, interactions with stakeholders, and time management
Creativity - cultivate imagination and systems thinking to attack problems from new angles
Motivated - to learn, improve, contribute, and progress toward stated goals
Excellence - consistent striving for and achievement of high-quality performance