James Mickley

James Mickley is an Instructor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University (OSU), where he also serves as Curator of the OSU Herbarium. He holds a Ph.D. (2017, University of Connecticut), M.A. (2010, Stony Brook University), and B.A. (2008, Kalamazoo College). His research focuses on plant collections management, herbarium outreach, and ecological studies of plant-pathogen interactions, forest fragmentation impacts, and floral evolution. He teaches courses including BOT313 (Plant Structure), BOT325 (Plants and Humanity), and BOT425/525 (Flora of the Pacific Northwest).

He leads the Oregon Flora Project collaboration to digitize 600,000 herbarium specimens and develop public access tools. His mentoring emphasizes skills training, fostering confidence in underrepresented students, and group-based learning. Notable awards include the 2023 OSU Ask Extension Answer of the Year Award and a 2015 Department Service Award.

His professional activities include iNaturalist community engagement, GitHub repository development (e.g., environmental sensor systems), and contributions to open-access biodiversity databases. Current projects emphasize leveraging technology for ecological monitoring and public botanical education.