About
Dr. Aimée Classen is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan. Since 2020, she has been Director of the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS). As director, she provides leadership for 13,000-acre campus and facility that leverages over a century of research and transformative experiences to drive discoveries and solutions to benefit Michigan and beyond.
Dr. Classen is an ecosystem and global change ecologist. Broadly, the Classen lab explores how ecosystems function and how interactions, both biotic and abiotic, influence the patterns and processes within and among ecosystems.
Previously, Dr. Classen held roles at the University of Vermont, University of Copenhagen, the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She was Editor-in-Chief of Ecological Monographs and has served on multiple other scientific journal editorial boards and is now serving on the Annual Reviews of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics (AREES) board. She currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO) and the Board of Collaborative Earth.
Dr. Classen was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, honored for her "transformative research that advances both fundamental knowledge regarding ecosystems and the pursuit of a sustainable future, as well as for her exemplary leadership". She was also elected a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America in recognition of her "creative leadership and vision for international research collaborations; for stellar research contributions to the ecology of global environmental change; and for outstanding service to the discipline".
Originally from Kinston, North Carolina, Aimée spent her childhood swimming in the ocean and she developed a passion for ecology while studying a wildlife ecology unit in high school.
Fields of study
Ecosystem ecology, global change, nutrient and carbon cycling, plant-soil interactions, biodiversity
Graduate students
Ariana Di Landro; Brenda Hernandez; Ronan Montgomery-Taylor; Aadia Moseley-McCloud; Giovanna Munoz-Gonzalez; Olivia Vought
Research team
Karin Rand (lab manager); Isabel Thornberry (research tech)
