Faculty Expertise
Throughout your time at Washington College, you will work with faculty in classes, lab and field work, internships, and more. Faculty serve as teachers and mentors, and as advisors for your Senior Capstone Experience (SCE). Explore the research interests of our faculty below.
Environmental Science and Studies Faculty
Jill Bible
Chair of Environmental Science and Studies
Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Jill Bible
Chair of Environmental Science and Studies
Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Area of Expertise
Marine Science; Native Oysters; Ecological Restoration
Research
I strive to understand how humans are affecting the ecosystems on which we depend and apply that knowledge to conservation and restoration. I am particularly interested in the effects of climate change and invasive species on nearshore marine ecosystems such as estuaries and rocky intertidal zones. Much of my work has focused on restoration of native oysters.
Leslie Sherman
W. Alton Jones Professor of Chemistry & Environmental Science
Chair of the Department of Chemistry
Leslie Sherman
W. Alton Jones Professor of Chemistry & Environmental Science
Chair of the Department of Chemistry
Area of Expertise
Environmental Chemistry
Research
Both environmental science and chemistry students have been deeply involved in my research at the River and Field Campus and at Urieville Lake. I let them choose their research question and develop their own project! For example, currently I have a student looking at trace metals in the grassland restoration soils. Last year I had a student investigating phosphorus cycling the lake. There are so many interesting questions to research!
Karl Kehm
Joseph H. McLain Associate Professor of Physics and Environmental Science & Studies
Director of the Earth and Planetary Science Program
Assistant Dean of Grants
Karl Kehm
Joseph H. McLain Associate Professor of Physics and Environmental Science & Studies
Director of the Earth and Planetary Science Program
Assistant Dean of Grants
Area of Expertise
Upper Atmosphere Dynamics; Evolution of the Solar System; Elemental Transport
Research
I teach courses in Physics, Earth Science, Planetary Science, Astronomy, Energy and Environment, Oceanography, and Geology. I advise capstones in physics and environmental science and studies.
Brian Scott
Adrian Reed Professor of Environmental Studies and Economics
Director of Chesapeake Regional Studies Minor
Co-Chair of the Department of Economics
Brian Scott
Adrian Reed Professor of Environmental Studies and Economics
Director of Chesapeake Regional Studies Minor
Co-Chair of the Department of Economics
Area of Expertise
Environmental and Natural Resource Economics; Cost Benefit Analysis
Research
Joseph Milligan
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Studies
Joseph Milligan
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Studies
Area of Expertise
Paleoclimatology
Research
My research focuses on the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a period of rapid global warming that occurred about 56 million years ago. By examining the size and shape of leaf cells preserved in fossil plants of that period, we can piece together a picture of the forest canopy during this critical time.
Rebecca Fox
Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Rebecca Fox
Associate Professor of Environmental Science
Area of Expertise
Nitrogen Cycling
Research
My research focuses on nitrogen cycling in agriculturally dominated systems. Nitrogen is a necessary nutrient for crop growth, but loss of excess nitrogen to groundwater and streams detrimentally affects downstream water bodies (examples are Chesapeake Bay & the Gulf of Mexico). My research primarily focuses on denitrification, the conversion of nitrate (NO3-) to nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitrogen gas (N2). Nitrous oxide is an important gas to study because it is a potent greenhouse gas. My lab at Washington College has the capability to measure the concentrations of the greenhouse gases N2O, methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) in water and gas samples. I also look at nutrient concentrations in local streams and groundwater.
Rebecca Mensch
Visiting Assistant Professor
Rebecca Mensch
Visiting Assistant Professor
Area of Expertise
Marine Biology; Mollusks; Cephalopods; Gastropods
Research
I am interested in a broad range of environmental and biological topics. I have advised senior capstones on topics ranging from the American Eel black market, to installing a rain garden on campus. Given my background, I also advise many of the marine-focused senior theses.
Madeline Poethke
Visiting Assistant Professor
Madeline Poethke
Visiting Assistant Professor
Area of Expertise
Research
Martin Connaughton
Associate Professor of Biology
Associate Chair of the Department of Biology
Martin Connaughton
Associate Professor of Biology
Associate Chair of the Department of Biology
Area of Expertise
Aquatic Ecotoxicology
Research
Students in my lab examine the effects of environmental toxicants and pharmaceuticals on fish development, function of the visual system and exploratory behavior using larval or adult zebrafish. Recent research projects have examined the effects of nicotine, alcohol, fluoxetine (active ingredient in Prozac) and some common agricultural pesticides. In addition we have examined the effects of aflatoxin, a fungal toxin that can affect crops, on visual development and behaviors.
Jennie Rinehimer
Associate Professor of Biology
Chair of the Department of Biology
Jennie Rinehimer
Associate Professor of Biology
Chair of the Department of Biology
Area of Expertise
Avian Behavioral Ecology; Predation Trade-Offs
Research
My research focuses on avian behavioral ecology. I am particularly interested in how predators influence the behavior of their prey and resultant trade-offs associated with avoiding or reducing predation risk. I have addressed these predation trade-offs in a variety of contexts and species, including how risk influences thermoregulation (ruby-throated hummingbirds, New World sparrows, mourning doves), foraging (hummingbirds and sparrows), parental care (field sparrows), and lekking behavior (white-collared manakins). At Washington College, my collaborative research with students primarily examines how age and experience of field sparrows influences their reproductive success at the college’s River and Field Campus.
Matthew McCabe
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Interim Director of the Justice, Law, and Society Minor
Matthew McCabe
Associate Professor of Philosophy
Interim Director of the Justice, Law, and Society Minor
Area of Expertise
BioMedical Ethics, Philosophy of Law, Environmental Ethics, Business Ethics, Professional Ethics, Global Ethics, The Ethics of War, Ethical Theory, Virtue Ethics, Social-Political Philosophy, and Metaethics.
Research
My research is focused on the continued development and defense of the Ethics of Care understood as a formulation of agent-based Virtue Ethics. I am currently expanding beyond the field of medicine to explore the insights the Virtue Ethic of Care can offer on the subject of punitive justice and issues in the political profession.
Aaron Lampman
Professor of Anthropology and International Studies
Dean of Student Achievement and Success
Aaron Lampman
Professor of Anthropology and International Studies
Dean of Student Achievement and Success
Area of Expertise
Cultural Anthropology
Research
I study traditional ecological knowledge, ethnomusicology, race, ethnicity and other aspects of cultural anthropology and cultural ecology in cultures and environments of Latin America and the U.S. Southwest.
Sean Meehan
Professor of English
Director of Writing Program
Co-Director of the Cromwell Center for Teaching and Learning
Sean Meehan
Professor of English
Director of Writing Program
Co-Director of the Cromwell Center for Teaching and Learning
Area of Expertise
Ralph Waldo Emerson; Environmental Writing; Rhetoric
Research
I teach and advise projects on environmental literature and writing, what is now more broadly called environmental humanities, and have focused on authors such as Henry David Thoreau, Annie Dillard, Wendell Berry, and Leslie Marmon Silko.
Benjamin Tilghman
Associate Professor of Art History
Chair of the Department of Art and Art History
Benjamin Tilghman
Associate Professor of Art History
Chair of the Department of Art and Art History
Area of Expertise
Medieval and Renaissance Art; Islamic Art; Environmental Humanities; Public Art
Research
I strive to help students discover that by looking carefully and thoughtfully at any work of art, they can begin to ask questions and explore ideas that will help them toward a richer understanding of their world, and a deeper connection to the other people within it. There is nothing like holding a medieval manuscript, knowing that your hands are touching the same pages that someone else turned centuries ago. Art history gives you the chance to travel into the past, while also learning more about yourself and your community in the present.
Carrie Reiling
Assistant Professor of Political Science & International Studies
Faculty Advisor to Model United Nations Program
Carrie Reiling
Assistant Professor of Political Science & International Studies
Faculty Advisor to Model United Nations Program
Area of Expertise
International Relations; FeministTtheory; African Politics
Research
My research and teaching interests are in international relations, feminist theory, and African politics, especially as they intersect in policy, namely the UN Security Council’s Women, Peace, and Security agenda. My research examines how this policy is implemented in West Africa and how local women’s NGOs work with the international community and national governments to achieve peace and security.