As an “interdisciplinarian” I have collaborated widely across the College allowing me to publish work with colleagues in the social sciences, humanities and arts and other areas of science. My research has focused on two distinct, but related areas: plant ecology and sustainability. In plant ecology with over $1 million in research funding from The National Science Foundation, my lab has focused on the ecological, genetic and chemical factors that influence insect herbivory. In the area of sustainability, I have worked internationally on measuring the success of sustainable practice in northern Guatemala, and I have been working in the Costa Rican community of Las Juntas de Abangares for more than 15 years on eco-educational tourism development, on public health and environmental studies of the effects of local gold mining and the development of alternative fuels. I have published dozens of scholarly articles in the areas of ecology, environmental and science education, and sustainable development and am the author of two books, Sustainable Solutions: Problem Solving for Current and Future Generations (Oxford University Press) and In Exchange for Gold: The Legacy and Sustainability of Artisanal Gold Mining In Las Juntas de Abangares (Common Ground Publishing) with photographer Joseph Elliott.