Associate Professor of Biology, Chair { Email Professor Laushman } Specialties: Plant population genetics and plant ecology Before joining the Oberlin faculty, Roger Laushman worked for two years as an ecologist for the Nature Conservancy. He was also a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington's Friday Harbor Laboratories. Laushman's research interests are in plant population genetics and plant ecology, with particular emphasis on aquatic plants. He has used electrophoresis and cytogenetics to study a variety of plant species, and he is currently working on the population genetics of plants that have water-pollinated mechanisms. At Friday Harbor, he studied eelgrass (Zostera marina), and in 1990 he began a study of American wildcelery (Vallisneria americana), both of which are water-pollinated. He is also interested in the population genetics of polyploid plant species. His research has been funded by Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society; the University of Washington; the OHIO Department of Natural Resources; Oberlin College; and the Hughes Foundation. Laushman's "Plant Ecology" course includes a weekend field trip, as well as weekly field laboratories in which students study terrestrial and aquatic plant ecology. The "Seminar in Conservation Biology" is a course designed for juniors and seniors that allows students to read primary literature, lead discussions, and apply principles of ecology and genetics to the growing discipline of conservation biology. He has also sponsored research on Oberlin's Camden Bog, floodplain ecology, seedbanks, and the population biology of stream fishes. Laushman enjoys the close interaction with Oberlin students, both formal and informal. He is a faculty associate in Oberlin's residential community program, dining often with the students. He enjoys outdoor activities, especially canoeing and gardening. His wife, Judy, is a horticulturist, and they have two children, Daniel and Katie. B.S. (Biology), 1979, University of Kansas M.S. (Botany), 1983, Iowa State University Ph.D. (Botany), 1988, University of Georgia