Andre Kessler

Andre Kessler is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University's College of Arts and Sciences. As a chemical ecologist, he studies plant induced responses to herbivore damage, focusing on mechanisms, ecological consequences, and evolutionary aspects of plant secondary metabolism as a vehicle of information transfer.

• Education: Ph.D. (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology/University of Jena, Germany, 2002), M.A. (University of Würzburg, Germany, 1988)

His research encompasses chemical elicitation of plant responses, plant chemistry-mediated alterations in insect population dynamics, plant-plant communication, and plant-pollinator interactions. Using chemical and molecular tools in field and lab experiments, his work spans molecular to community-level interactions in natural habitats across New York, Utah, Peru, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Kenya. Current projects apply chemical ecology principles to agricultural pest control in East Africa.

Andre teaches courses including BIOEE 3611 Field Ecology, BIOEE 3690 Chemical Ecology, BIOEE 4460/4461 Plant Behavior, and BIOEE 7640 Plant-Insect Interactions Seminar. His research has direct applications to sustainable agriculture through natural plant defense mechanisms.

Keywords: Chemical ecology, plant-animal interactions, plant resistance, herbivory, plant behavioral ecology, insect herbivory, plant-pollinator interactions, plant secondary metabolism.