معرفی
Kerry Farris serves as a Lecturer in the Natural Science department at Oregon Institute of Technology's Klamath Falls campus and holds a research scientist position at the university's AIRE Center. She joined Oregon Tech in 2018 after extensive field experience with government and non-profit organizations, where she applied her expertise in wildlife biology and forest/fire management to interdisciplinary ecological research.
Her educational foundation includes a B.S. and M.S. in wildlife ecology from the University of Idaho, with specialized training in habitat selection and quantitative ecological methods. This technical background directly informs her research approach and teaching philosophy.
Dr. Farris's primary research examines disturbance ecology through the lens of wildlife-habitat relationships, with particular focus on vegetation management impacts. Her work integrates quantitative analysis with field observations to address critical questions about fire ecology, forest fuels treatment effects, and wildlife population responses. She actively translates these research themes into practical applications within her teaching of ecology, data analysis, mammalogy, and environmental science courses.
Analysis of her publication record reveals consistent national-scale contributions to fire ecology, particularly through the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study. Her research demonstrates methodological rigor in examining avian and mammalian responses to fuel reduction treatments across diverse ecosystems, with special attention to woodpecker-snag dynamics and post-fire habitat utilization.
At Oregon Tech, she contributes to the AIRE Center's mission through applied environmental research that bridges academic inquiry with real-world conservation challenges. Her work emphasizes collaborative approaches to understanding ecological disturbance and developing sustainable management practices.
