David Greene – Professor and Chair, Forest Ecology
Where are you originally from?
The East Bay.
Where did you complete your education?
University of Calgary (Alberta).
Where have you taught prior to coming to HSU?
Concordia University (Montreal).
What are your specific areas of expertise?
Plant regeneration: pollen, fertilization, seed dispersal, germination, seedbeds.
What classes are you teaching this year?
None, but starting next year I will probably do forest management.
What attracted you to Humboldt State?
The students, the faculty, the climate, the plants.
What do you do in your free time outside the classroom?
There isn’t much free time, but what I have goes to my family.
What is your favorite classroom technique to engage students?
A field trip.
What is the best thing about being a university professor?
Being around people who are young and curious.
Where is the strangest place you’ve done research?
My front yard, studying the abscission of dandelion seeds. It infuriated my neighbors but I got a good publication from it. [Editor’s note: The New Oxford American Dictionary defines abscission as the natural detachment parts of a plant, typically dead leaves and ripe fruit.]
If you weren’t an HSU professor, what would you be?
A professor somewhere else.