fnr Alumni news & Stories

Discover the latest achievements, awards and stories from Purdue’s Forestry and Natural Resources alumni and partners.

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Alumni News & Stories

Dr. John Kershaw conducting terrestrial laser scanning in Newfoundland with students in 2017; Dr. Kershaw with the first UNB-MAHE nursing cohort in July 2023.

Dr. John Kershaw Receives 2024 FNR Lifetime Achievement Award

When Dr. John Kershaw grew up in southern Indiana between Mooresville and Martinsville, he had a plan. He would go to Purdue University, become a...

BJ Meadows with her family at the Fish Fry; BJ Meadows receiving her Lifetime Achievement plaque from Dr. Zhao Ma

Betty Jane "BJ" Meadows Named 2024 FNR Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Betty Jane “BJ” Meadows was the first female graduate from Purdue’s master’s degree in forestry program in 1963, but that...

Dr. Jacob Goheen with former students Simon and Ali in 2007

Dr. Jacob Goheen Named 2024 FNR Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

Dr. Jacob Goheen, who received his master’s degree from Purdue in 2002, has contributed to the education of students, professionals and...

Dr. Ken Kellner at a computer; Kellner teaching; Kellner at Denali National Park.

Dr. Ken Kellner Named 2024 FNR Outstanding Young Alumni Award Recipient

Dr. Ken Kellner, who earned his master’s degree (2012) and PhD (2015) from Purdue and followed with two years as a postdoc in the program, is...

Dr. Joe Robb releases ducks with his son Jason; Dr. Joe Robb on a prescribed fire scene; Dr. Joe Robb holds a hognose snake.

Dr. Joe Robb Earns Chase S. Osborn Award for Wildlife Conservation

Dr. Joe Robb, who has spent the last 26 years serving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Big Oaks and Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuges,...

Dr. Zackary Delisle holding two frogs as a child; Dr. Zackary Delisle holding a cottonmouth snake during his master's degree research; Dr. Zackary Delisle doing an aerial survey in Alaska in his current role as an ecologist with the National Park Service.

Dr. Zackary Delisle Receives 2024 Chase S. Osborn Early Career Award for Wildlife Conservation

Dr. Zackary Delisle (PhD 2023), whose research in Indiana was instrumental for enacting deer reduction zones and estimating deer population size...

Julian Hutchinson at home on leave from the Army before the Korean War; Hutch with family members in 2008; the cover of Hutch's new book An American Hero

1958 Alumnus Julian Hutchinson Publishes New Book

At age 94, Julian “Hutch” Hutchinson, a 1958 Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources alumnus, has published his 10th book “American...

A photo of a wildfire provided by Blake Stanton.

FNR Alumni Assist During Wildfire Season

Wildfire season can extend from five to more than seven months in length, occurring mostly in the summer and fall in the Western United States,...

From centuries-old, hand-drawn maps to LiDAR lasers & the role of both in forestry

From centuries-old, hand-drawn maps to LiDAR lasers & the role of both in forestry

An army of bow saws and boots march through dense thickets of forest patches in the Chicago region, cutting away greenery in the city and its...

Lenny Farlee (left) and Jack Nelson (right) accept the Datena Distinguished Forester Award at the Indiana Woodland Owner conference.

Farlee, Koenig Honored with 2023 Datena Distinguished Forester Award

Three foresters with exemplary careers, including two Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources alumni - Lenny Farlee and Bob Koenig (posthumously) -...

Pacific walrus group hauled-out on sea ice in the Chukchi Sea.

FNR Field Report: Alumni Amanda Herbert, Bill Beatty Research Pacific Walruses in Alaska

Bill Beatty, a 2012 PhD alumnus and current research wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences...

Lawson (right) receives the Women of Color STEM community service award from Kendall Harris, senior director of equity advancement at YMCA of the Triangle, and Angela Stribling, radio host (WHURfm California) and host and producer of nationwide Awareness Campaigns such as Celebrating Black History Vignettes.

Shaneka Lawson Honored for Equity Efforts, Community Service

Dr. Shaneka Lawson, a USDA Forest Service Research Plant Physiologist and FNR adjunct assistant professor, has been honored with two awards this...

Emily McCallen holds an eastern hellbender salamander during her PhD research at Purdue.

Emily McCallen Earns Chase S. Osborn Early Career Award for Wildlife Conservation

After taking her first biology class in community college, Emily McCallen was hooked. As a non-traditional student, she went on to receive a...

Trent Osmon speaks to a group of students in the forest

Trent Osmon Named 2023 FNR Distinguished Alumnus

Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources is proud to honor Trent Osmon with its 2023 FNR Distinguished Alumnus Award. Osmon got a head start toward...

Dave Case delivers a keynote speech

FNR Names Dave Case as 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources is proud to name Dave Case as its 2023 FNR Lifetime Achievement Award honoree. Case, a 1980 forestry alumnus,...

Mikaela Agresta spraying invasive species with a UTV sprayer.

FNR Field Report: Mikaela Agresta

Mikaela Agresta, who completed her degree in forestry with a minor in wildlife science in May 2023, worked as a forestry intern under Ron Rathfon...

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