Tom Langen

Biography

I have been a member of the Biology and Psychology Departments at Clarkson University since 1999. I teach courses in the areas of Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation Science. I also work with various national efforts to improve university education in ecology and other areas of biology, and have done workshops for K-12 science teachers on integrated math and ecology. I enjoy field-based environmental education, and regularly teach field courses in the Adirondack Mountains of New York and Costa Rica. My research focuses on environmental management, including wetland restoration, road ecology, and endangered species conservation. I am a consultant to NGOs, state and federal agencies on environmental management issues, and I conduct workshops on road ecology and management for agencies and academic institutions in the US, Canada, and Latin America. I work as a volunteer for the local (St. Lawrence ) Land Trust, Northern New York Audubon, and the Adirondack to Algonquin Consortium. My little free time is spent with my family cooking, gardening, or exploring the Adirondacks.

Research Interest

"Dr. Langen conducts research on the environmental impact of roads, on the effectiveness of public-private partnerships for wetland restoration, and on habitat management and conservation of birds and other animals. His road-related research has included the impacts of winter road management on roadside vegetation and lakes in the Adirondack Park, predictive modeling of hotspots of road mortality of amphibians and reptiles, design and functioning of wildlife barriers and passageways for turtles, and the impact of highways on habitat connectivity in Costa Rican National Parks. He leads professional development workshops in Latin America and North America on the environmental impact of roads and other infrastructure. Dr. Langen’s wetland research focuses on the environmental, economic, and social benefits and costs of wetland restoration to private landowners. His research on habitat management in birds focuses on cooperative projects between land-owners and conservationists for threatened species such as the golden-winged warbler or spruce grouse. Dr. Langen’s teaching interests include how to best apply problem-based learning and inquiry approaches to improve teaching in ecology and conservation biology, use of publically-available ‘big data’ including citizen science data for undergraduate teaching and research, and how to design undergraduate summer research internship programs to best achieve program objectives. "