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Bill Currie

Bill Currie
Professor; Associate Dean for Research and Engagement
Geospatial Data Sciences
Water
Conservation + Restoration
wcurrie@umich.edu
(734) 647-2453
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2006 Dana
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About

Bill Currie, PhD, is interested in interdisciplinary approaches to the study of the environment and the development of sustainability science. His research and scholarly interests include ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry including carbon and nutrient cycling, physics and energetics, landscapes and coupled human-natural systems, land conservation and management, biofuels and food security, computational modeling and simulation, synthesis using models, and philosophical foundations of modeling.

Currie has a background in ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry (nutrient and carbon cycling), energetics, systems dynamics modeling and individual-based / agent-based modeling. He is interested in using our current understanding in these fields to investigate ecosystem change and dynamics in coupled human-environment systems.

Currie studies the linkages among carbon, nutrient, and water cycling and energy flows and transformations in terrestrial ecosystems and human-environment systems.  He is interested in using our current understanding of ecosystems to explore creative, new understanding of the two-way interactions in human-environment systems.  He works at scales from field plots to landscapes, collaborating with other researchers and students to integrate understanding and build models for synthesis.  The goal of this research is to contribute to the developing field of sustainability science using an approach that grows out of ecosystem science. 

Publications

  • Currie, William S., Deborah E. Goldberg, Jason Martina, Radka Wildova, Emily Farrer, and Kenneth Elgersma.  2014.  Emergence of nutrient-cycling feedbacks related to plant size and invasion success in a wetland community-ecosystem model.  Ecological Modelling 282: 69-82.  

  • Currie William S., Sarah Kiger, Joan I. Nassauer, Meghan Hutchins, Lauren L. Marshall, Daniel G. Brown, Rick L. Riolo, Derek T. Robinson, and Stephanie K. Hart. Multi-scale heterogeneity in vegetation and soil carbon in exurban residential land of Southeastern MI. Ecological Applications, in press. 

  • Currie, William S. and Stephanie Hart.  Climatic gradients and human development pressure determine spatial patterns of forest fragmentation across the Great Lakes basin, USA.  Landscape Ecology, In review. 

  • Brunner, Anna, William S. Currie, and Shelie Miller. 2015. Cellulosic ethanol production: Landscape scale net carbon strongly affected by forest decision making. Biomass and Bioenergy 83:32-41. 

  • Currie, William S.  2011. Units of nature or processes across scales? The ecosystem concept at age 75. (Invited Tansley Review.)  New Phytologist 190:21-34.

 Read more publications here.

Research
  • 2016-2018: Implementing Adaptive Management and Monitoring for Restoration of Wetlands invaded by Phragmites. EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Program. $648,799. CoPrincipal Investigator.

  • 2016-2018: Comprehensive Invasive Phragmites Management Planning. Michigan Invasive Species Grants Program, Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources. $203,000. Co-Principal Investigator.

  • 2016-2017: Climate Change Mitigation: Moving Beyond Carbon Neutral. University of Michigan Office of Research 2016 Distinguished Faculty / Graduate Student Seminar program. $10,000.

  • 2014-2016: Investigating social-ecological metrics of forest landscape characteristics across scales: A regional gradient study in northern Michigan. U.S.D.A. McIntire-Stennis Program. $68,946. Principal Investigator.

  • 2013-2014: Assessing Ecosystem Services Provided by Restored Wetlands Under Current and Future Climate and Land-Use Scenarios. University of Michigan Water Center. $50,000. CoPrincipal Investigator.

Education

PhD, University of New Hampshire (natural resources)

MS, University of Virginia (environmental sciences)

BS, Brown University (physics)

Affiliations

Chair, review of Editor-In-Chief for Ecological Issues, for the Ecological Society of America (2015).

Participant, Great Lakes Wetland Mapping Workshop, The Nature Conservancy (2015).

Panelist, National Science Foundation Ecosystem Studies Program (2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013).

In the News
Living labs to advance low-carbon building construction
March 8, 2023

Living labs to advance low-carbon building construction

The world’s building stock is expected to double by 2060, adding the equivalent of one New York City in new construction every month. Yet construction methods and...

U-M, Schmidt Futures to partner on new AI research program
October 31, 2022

U-M, Schmidt Futures to partner on new AI research program

The University of Michigan will recruit and train 60 postdoctoral fellows over the next six years as part of a new global partnership that aims to accelerate the next...

soil and water
May 13, 2022

Two SEAS projects awarded Engage Detroit Workshops grants

The U-M School for Environment and Sustainability's (SEAS) commitment to finding new and innovative ways to make an impact in Detroit will be furthered thanks to two...

PODS award winners: Ayumi Fujisaki-Manome (PI), Joshua Newell (PI), Runzi Wang (PI), and Bill Currie (Co-PI)
January 20, 2022

SEAS researchers well represented in 2021 Propelling Original Data Science grants

SEAS and Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) faculty received three of the 17 Propelling Original Data Science (PODS) grants awarded by the Michigan...

NASA MUREP grant to fund study of Great Lakes vulnerability to global change
July 30, 2021

NASA MUREP grant to fund study of Great Lakes vulnerability to global change

NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry (OCEAN) has awarded $750,000 to a multi-institution project to study...

November 1, 2019

Bill Currie Named AAAS Fellow, Brad Cardinale Recognized by Web Science Group as one of the world’s “Most Influential Researchers”

Congratulations to two SEAS faculty, who recently received significant recognition for their work: Bill Currie has been honored as an American Association for the...

In the Media
11/10/2022
Bill Currie
Engage Detroit Workshops Program (Engaged Michigan)
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