Research in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology (EEOB) at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ State University (²ÝÁñÊÓƵ) spans the broad subdiciplines of Ecology and Environmental Science, Evolutionary Biology, Organismal Biology, and Science Education.

Read more about each specific subdiscipline below, as well as links to faculty who specialize in those areas.

  • These are broad interdisciplinary research fields that include the study of organisms (including humans) and their relationship to the environment; the patterns of distribution of organisms and factors that determine where organisms live; as well as connections and interactions between the atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.

    Featured Faculty Research

    Name
    Position
    • Associate Professor of Biology

      mbretfel@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-3275
      SC 336

    • Assistant Chair of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Director for the Environmental Science Major and Associate Professor of Environmental Science

      dferrei2@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-5011
      SC 309

    • Assistant Professor of Biology

      ngreen62@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-6546
      SC 331

    • Associate Professor of Biology

      sgreipss@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-4359
      SC 316

    • Chair of the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and Professor of Biology

      pjackson@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-6655
      SC 310

    • Professor of Environmental Science

      mlaposat@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-3453
      SC 327

    • Associate Professor of Biology

      tmutchle@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-4360
      SC 322

    • Assistant Professor of Ecology and Organismal Biology

      wpreisse@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-3466
      SC 326

    • Associate Professor of Organismal Biology

      mweand@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-4271
      SC 320

  • Research in Evolutionary Biology at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ includes a common interest in how the mechanisms of organismal form, function, and interactions evolved. Inquiry is directed toward understanding biological systems at the individual, population, community, species, and molecular levels of organization. Major conceptual areas pursued by our department include foraging ecology, population genetics, phylogenetics, population and community molecular ecology, and the molecular evolutionary mechanisms underlying novel organs and pathways.

    Featured Faculty Research

    Name
    Position
    • Professor of Biology

      tmcelro2@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-6162
      SC 319

    • Associate Professor of Biology

      jmcneal7@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-3561
      SC 318

    • Assistant Professor of Biology

      tpierso3@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-4850
      SC 328

    • Associate Professor of Biology

      jtaglial@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-3678
      SC 332

  • Organismal biology is the integrative study of structure, function, ecology, and evolution at the level of the organism, which can also play a central role in answering conceptual questions about both ecology and evolution. Current research programs include behavioral, toxicological, and population-level studies that focus on humans, non-human apes, fishes, and snails.

    Featured Faculty Research

    Name
    Position
    • Assistant Professor of Biology

      ngreen62@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-6546
      SC 331

    • Assistant Professor of Biology

      tpierso3@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-4850
      SC 328

    • Assistant Professor of Ecology and Organismal Biology

      wpreisse@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-3466
      SC 326

    • Associate Professor of Biology

      jtaglial@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-3678
      SC 332

  • Science education is the field concerned with sharing science content and process with individuals not traditionally considered part of the scientific community. The learners may be children, adolescents, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process, socioscientific issues, and pedagogy. Our research is typically collaborative in both secondary school classrooms and informal settings, using quantitative and qualitative research methods applied to traditional studies of teaching and learning as well as citizen science activities that involve engaging the public in scientific discovery through data collection.

    Featured Faculty Research

    Name
    Position
    • Associate Professor of Biology

      mbretfel@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-3275
      SC 336

    • Professor of Environmental Science

      mlaposat@kennesaw.edu
      (470) 578-3453
      SC 327

Publications