Congratulations to SIPS Professor Dan Buckley, elected in February as one of 65 new Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology. Fellows represent an honorific leadership group with the American Society of Microbiology (ASM) elected annually on the basis of their scientific achievement and original contributions to microbiology.
Buckley is a microbial ecologist in the SIPS Soil & Crop Sciences Section, focusing on the ecological and evolutionary factors that govern microbial diversity in soils and how those microbes impact soil processes. Recent publications highlight the range of research topics in his program from discovery of bacterial strains in hemlock forest soil and characterization of the hemp microbiome to descriptions of the microbial interactions involved in cellulose degradation, with implications for global carbon cycling.
In addition to his research, Buckley teaches ‘Microbes, the Earth, and Everything’ (PLSCS/BIOMI1120) with Esther Angert, incorporating various active learning strategies for which they received funding from Cornell. He has also played a major role in shaping general microbiology sections in the classic textbook ‘Brock, Biology of Microorganisms’, road-testing his material as an instructor for ‘General Microbiology’ (BIOMI2900). As a colleague wrote in his nomination letter, “Dan has already had a strong imprint on Microbiology. His achievements as a researcher and scholar exceed that needed for AAM membership, and I believe the best is yet to come.”
