Anna Davidson
Senior Research Associate/Lecturer, Natural Resources and the Environment Section
As a plant scientist and visual artist, my work operates at the intersection of art, science, and environmental sustainability. For over 15 years, I have led interdisciplinary initiatives in the ecological arts, integrating scientific research with creative practice to examine critical issues including climate change, natural resource use, and ecological memory.
At Cornell, I founded Cornell EcoArts, an interdisciplinary incubator that bridges contemporary art and environmental research to address ecological challenges across local to global scales. My research program employs social science methods to assess the impact of integrating art into ecological field courses—particularly on student identity, belonging, sense of place, and well-being—and examines the outcomes of artist residencies at biological field stations across the United States. I also collaborate with the New York State Hemlock Initiative to develop tree physiology–based models of imidacloprid uptake under varying environmental conditions.
Within the Environment and Sustainability major, I teach experiential, community-engaged field courses that integrate art, ecology, and Indigenous knowledge systems.
Education
- MFA, Art Studio, Department of Art, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 2016
- PhD, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, 2014
- BA, Biology, Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin, 2006
- Art Studio, Massachusetts College of Art and Design Boston, MA. Hellenic International Studies in the Arts, Paros, Greece, 2005
Recent Research
Selected Publications
Mehlhorn, A., Davidson, A.M. (2026) Art adds value to ecological Field Courses: A multiyear case study in higher education. Ecology and Evolution, 16 Evolution16, no. 4: e73232. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73232.
Davidson, A.M., Brazelton, B.J., Lang, S.Q. (2026). Portholes into the deep: Exploring ocean memory of Lost City through art and science. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 14(1):1-14 https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2025.00052
Zwieniecki, M. A., Davidson, Orozco, J., A.M. Cooper, K., Guzman Delgado, P. (2022) The impact of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) concentration on yield in Prunus dulcis, Pistacia vera, and Juglans Regia. Scientific Reports, 12(1): 4360, doi:10.1038/s41598-022-08289-8.
Davidson, A.M., Cooper, K., Le, S., Lange, E. Zwieniecki, M.A. (2021). No time to rest – seasonal dynamics of non-structural carbohydrates in twigs of three Mediterranean tree species suggest year-round activity. Scientific Reports, 11, 5181 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83935-1
Sperling, O., Kamai, Tixier, A., Davidson, A., Jarvis-Shean, K., Raveh, E., DeJong, T., Zwieniecki, M. (2019) Predicting bloom dates by temperature mediated kinetics of carbohydrate metabolism in deciduous trees. Agriculture and Forest Meteorology, 276-277
Davidson, A., Keller, F., & Turgeon, R. (2011). Phloem loading, plant growth form, and climate. Protoplasma, 248(1), 153- 163
Awards & Honors
Cornell Einhorn Center for Community Engagement Faculty Fellow
Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability Faculty Fellow
National Endowment of the Arts Award
National Academies Keck Futures Initiative-Ocean Memory-Decent & Transformation, 2020/2021
Margrit Mondavi Fellowship, UC Davis, 2015
Freeman Gadberry Award, UC Davis, 2015/16
Jack Pickett Agriculture Scholarship, UC Davis 2014
Davis Henry A. Jastro Research Award, UC Davis 2011, 2014
Contact Information
Fernow Hall 119
Ithaca, NY 14853
adavidson [at] cornell.edu
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Additional Links
More information
- Arctic landscapes, ocean hydrothermal vents and deep sea mining, ecological memory.
- Tree ecophysiology (non-structural carbohydrate dynamics in trees-Co-founder of the Carbohydrate Observatory).
- Innovating interdisciplinary field-based teaching and learning experiences in art, ecology and land use.
- Tropical Lab Online Exhibition. La Salle College of the Arts, Singapore, 2020
- The Performer, Loosenart Gallery, Magazine & Millepiani Exhibition Space, Rome, Italy, 2020
- Exquisite Corpse: Art in the time of the Corona virus. Online Exhibition. 2020
- Art in isolation. Santa Clarita Arts Virtual Gallery, Santa Clarita, CA, 2020
- Arctic Makes: Observations, Lessons and Solutions from the Geographic Periphery. Arctic Design School, Urals State University of Architecture and Art, Ekaterinburg, Russia. 2020
- Au-delà du Nord (Beyond North) Galerie d’art Louise-et-Reuben-Cohen Université de Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, 2019
- The Arctic: Documenting Nature, Sidespace Gallery, Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, 2019
- Tiny Little Life Boats, The Wurks Gallery. Providence, RI, 2018
- Science Inspires Art: OCEAN New York Hall of Science, New York, NY, 2017
- Djerassi Resident Artists Program-Open House, Woodside, CA, 2017
- 81 Degrees North, Galleri Metripol,Tallinn, Estonia, 2016
- Pole Saw, Pyramiden, Svalbard, Norway, 2016
- Having Happened, Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento, CA, 2016
- Cocktail Party Effect, Embark Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2016
- Third Space Art Collective, Davis, CA, 2016
- Consilience, Art/Science, The Pence Gallery, Davis, CA, 2015
- Mental Throes, Third Space Art Collective, Davis, CA, 2015
- Tropical Lab, La Sale College of the Arts, Singapore, 2015
- Subject to Change, Beatnik Studios, Sacramento, CA, 2015
- White Line Fever, Third Space Art Collective, Davis, CA 2015
- Third Space Art Collective, Davis, CA, 2014
- Organism, Art exhibit fusing Art, Science & Technology. Old Nelson Gallery. Davis, CA, 2013
- Consilience, Art/Science, The Pence Gallery. Davis, CA, 2010
Artwork
- Performer, Loosenart Magazine, 2020 www.loosenart.com
- Human, Murze Magazine. 2020. Issue 12 Murze.org
Scientific Work
Davidson, A.M., Cooper, K., Le, S., Lange, E. Zwieniecki, M.A. (2021) No time to rest – seasonal dynamics of non-structural carbohydrates in twigs of three Mediterranean tree species suggest year-round activity. Scientific Reports, 11, 5181
Sperling, O., Kamai, Tixier, A., Davidson, A., Jarvis-Shean, K., Raveh, E., DeJong, T., Zwieniecki, M. (2019) Predicting bloom dates by temperature mediated kinetics of carbohydrate metabolism in deciduous trees. Agriculture and Forest Meteorology, 276-277
Davidson, A.M., Da Silva, DeJong, T.M. (2019). Rate of shoot development (phyllochron) is dependent on carbon availability, shoot type, and rank in peach trees. Trees, Structure and function. P.1-8 DOI: 10.1007/s00468-019-01881-y
Davidson, A.M., Da Silva, D., DeJong, T.M. (2017) The phyllochron of well-watered and water-deficit of mature peach trees varies with shoot type and vigor. Annals of Botany, Plants, 9(5): plx042
Davidson, A.M., Da Silva, D., Saa, S., DeJong, T.M. (2016) Elevated CO2 increased photosynthesis and carbohydrate status but did not affect the phyllochron or incremental shoot growth in young peach (Prunus persica) trees. Horticulture, Environment and Biotechnology, 57:364, pp. 364-370
Davidson, A.M., Da Silva, D., Quintano, B., DeJong, T.M. (2015). The phyllochron of Prunus persica shoots is relatively constant under controlled growth conditions but seasonally increases in the field in ways unrelated to patterns of temperature or radiation. Scientia Horticulturae, 184, 106-113
Davidson, A., Keller, F., & Turgeon, R. (2011). Phloem loading, plant growth form, and climate. Protoplasma, 248(1), 153- 163
Anna in the news
News
Through the capstone course Art and Science of the Mohawk River Watershed, a group of environment and sustainability majors studied the river through the lenses of art, science and culture, deepening their understanding of a complex natural...
- Nature
- Natural Resources
- Natural Resources and the Environment Section
News
Twenty-five faculty and academic staff from nine Cornell colleges and units are Engaged Faculty Fellows for the 2023-24 academic year, with projects dedicated to advancing community-engaged learning at Cornell and within their respective fields.
- American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
- Cornell AgriTech
- Department of Communication