David Cairns

David Cairns is a Professor and Department Head at Texas A&M University's College of Geosciences, specializing in climate change impacts on vegetation. His research focuses on ecotones, treelines, salt marshes, and tundra environments. He employs methods like population genetics, dendroecology, and simulation modeling.

Education: Ph.D., University of Iowa (1995); M.S., University of Florida (1991); B.A., University of California, Berkeley (1989).

Research interests include alpine treeline dynamics, arctic shrub expansion, and salt marsh vegetation as climate indicators. He has advised multiple graduate students and earned notable teaching awards, including the College-Level Distinguished Achievement Award (2012).