Hoffmann Lab Personnel
		Wade Wall Ph.D. Student Co-advisor: Tom Wentworth I am currently working on population ecology and conservation genetics of several rare plant species of the Sandhills region of North Carolina.
		Erika L. Geiger Postdoctoral Researcher My main research interests are in savanna ecosystems. For the past ten years I have worked in semi-arid systems in Colorado and Arizona with a focus on disturbances such as invasive species, fire, and humans as factors shaping plant communities. Recently I have shifted my research focus to dynamics of tropical savannas, where I am exploring the role of positive feedbacks in maintaining the forest-savanna boundaries. My current research is in the Cerrado region of the Brazilian highlands.
		Renee Marchin Ph.D. Student I am interested in understanding how global climate change influences the physiology, growth, and survival of plant species. My master’s thesis work quantified physiological differences among populations of Fraxinus americana L. (white ash) that were correlated to precipitation differences across the native species range. In 2006, I worked with the Bureau of Land Management and the Aspen Delineation Project to monitor the success of various management practices, including conifer removal, prescribed burns, and fencing on the regeneration of natural stands of trembling aspen in northeastern California. My PhD work focuses on: How will warming impact the phenology, water relations, and growth of temperate forest species? How do management practices interact with species growth strategies to affect ecosystem hydrology?
		Alice Wines Ph.D. Student My research interests: How will warming and altered rainfall influence tree survival and function? How can we use physiological traits to predict tree response to climate change? I study how drought and rising temperatures affect the water and carbon relations of deciduous tree species. I am particularly interested in how the drought survival strategies of different tree species may affect their survival in future climates. My research is conducted locally at NC State’s Lake Wheeler Field labs and at the Duke Forest warming project.
		Jim Hauser Ph.D. Student I am studying landscape ecology of fires in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina
		Samantha Swatling-Holcomb Ph.D. Student
		Stephanie Hollingsworth Ph.D. Student
	Lab Alumni Sybil G. Gotsch (Postdoc) On Lee Lau (M.S.) Pamela Abit (Ph.D.) Emily Habinck (M.S.)