Myers Family Professor of Environmental Science and Director, Institute of Arctic Studies at the Dickey Center for International Understanding at Dartmouth College
Ross Virginia is an ecosystem ecologist interested in human influence on biogeochemical cycles in terrestrial systems. His emphasis is on understanding how processes such as desertification and climate change alter plant-soil interactions and the ecology, biodiversity and functioning of soils. His research examines carbon and nitrogen cycling in deserts, including the arid lands of the southwest and the polar deserts of Antarctica, the McMurdo Dry Valleys. He is also interested in the relationships between the disciplines of ecology, ecosystem science and environmental law. He is a co-principal investigator on the McMurdo Dry Valley Long Term Ecological Research Program and serves as the Director of the Dickey Center’s Institute of Arctic Studies.