Researcher Bios

Jianguo (Jack) Liu

Associate Professor of Fisheries and Wildlife

Age: 39
Hometown: Hunan Province (China)
Education:
Harvard University (Postdoctoral Study)
University of Georgia (Ph.D.)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (M.S.)
Hunan Agricultural University (B.S.)
At MSU since: 1995
MSU research piece: Jack is the principle investigator on the panda habitat project.
The path to China: Jack was born and grew up in the hometown of the late Chinese leader Mao Tse-tung, but his dream was to become a scientist instead of a politician. He is particularly interested in integrating ecology with socioeconomics and human demography/behaviors to understand the complexity of the world and to seek effective solutions to real-world problems. During his spare time, he loves to chase after his two daughters Julie, 7, and Jessica, 2, with his wife Jenny.

Zhiyan Ouyang

Director, Key Lab of Systems Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences. The Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Age: 40
Hometown: Hunan Province (China)
Education: Hunan Agricultural University (B.S.)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (M.S., Ph.D)
Visiting Scholar, Michigan State University
The path to China: Ouyang lives and works in Beijing, He is married to Shunhua Song and they have an 11-year-old son, Mengzheng.

Scott Bearer

Ph.D. student

Age: 27
Hometown: Latrobe, Pa.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in forestry from Virginia Tech. Master’s from Clarion University in Pennsylvania for which he sat in the forest and listened to tree bats fly by to understand how they used powerline and pipeline corridors.
At MSU since: Spring 2002
MSU research piece: Understanding the effects of timber harvesting and fuel wood collection on giant panda habitat use.
The path to China: Scott grew up on a historic Civil War farm, the son of the chief of wildfire operations and an artist. His interest in how humans have an impact on wildlife merged with a deep interest in Eastern culture that began in elementary school when someone brought in a Chinese newspaper.

Guangming He

Ph.D. student

Age: 30
Hometown: Jintang, Sichuan Province, China

Education: Bachelor’s degree in soil and water conservation, master’s in watershed management, Beijing Forestry University.
At MSU since: August 2000.
MSU research piece: Working to map where harvesting is happening in the Wolong Reserve and in developing an internet-based modeling system that shows what impact human activities and policies could have on the environment.
The path to China: Growing up in China, Guangming saw first-hand the effects of soil erosion on farming. While he began his career studying water and soil, he now is excited about applying that knowledge to computer modeling to help policymakers make informed decisions. Guangming is married to Qing Chou.

Li An

Ph.D. Student

Age: 36
Hometown: Beijing, China

Education: Bachelor’s in economic geography, Beijing University. Master’s in urban ecology from the Research Center for Ecological and Environmental Sciences.
At MSU since: January 1998
MSU research piece: Showing how household dynamics – family size and makeup, incomes, psychosocial factors – can affect panda environment.
The path to China: Before coming to MSU, Li An worked in industry in China, where he saw he needed more education to better tackle to complex issues of balancing the needs of people with protecting the environment.

Marc Linderman

Ph.D. student

Age: 32
Hometown: South Haven, Mich.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in physics from University of Michigan. Master’s from University of Wisconsin in environmental monitoring.
At MSU since: 1998
MSU research piece: Marc has completed his doctoral thesis. His work shows how to use remote sensing to monitor panda habitat and human impacts.
The path to China: Marc sees this work as more than China. Environmental problems seen in Wolong are not only in mountains in Sichuan, but also in Detroit, in Europe and in Africa. He’s eager to translate the understanding to other parts of the globe.

Sue Nichols

Senior Communications Manager for Science and Research
MSU University Relations

Age: 41
Education: Bachelor’s degree in journalism from Michigan State
At MSU since: 1993
MSU research piece: Sue’s job is to give a voice to the research team, help the public understand how and why university research is done, and the impact it can and does have. It doesn’t hurt to tell a really cool, fun story in the process.
The path to China: Sue was a newspaper reporter for 13 years before coming to Michigan State. She has explained everything from the inner workings of a superconducting cyclotron to how to grow indoor turfgrass for World Cup soccer. She has a 12-year-old daughter, Taylor.

Kevin Epling

Age: 38

Education: Associate’s degree in film production from Lansing Community College.
At MSU since: 1992
MSU research piece: Gather images that will show how research is done – whether it’s in a meeting room, or in a field of bamboo. His goal is to give the inside view of science.
The path to China: For the past 15 years, Kevin has worked in news and video production, covering everything from presidential elections and visits to flesh sucking sea lampreys. He and his wife, Tammy, have a son Matt, 14, and daughter Kristen, 9.