AgBioResearch Staff Members
Doug Buhler, Director
John Baker, Associate Director
Steve Pueppke, CANR Global and Strategic Initiatives Director
Bev Riedinger, Finance and Business Manager
Jackie DeSander, Project GREEEN Administrative Assistant
Tonia Dumont, Administrative Assistant
Linda Haubert, Projects Administrator
Bill Humphrey, Preaward Coordinator
Holly Whetstone, Communications Manager
Doug Buhler
Director, AgBioResearch;
Senior Associate Dean of Research, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR)
517-884-3867
buhler@anr.msu.edu
As the director of AgBioResearch, Doug Buhler acts as liaison with Michigan commodity groups and provides leadership for Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs). Project GREEEN is a cooperative effort between plant-based commodities and businesses together with AgBioResearch, MSU Extension and the Michigan Department of Agriculture to advance Michigan's economy through its plant-based agriculture. As CANR acting associate dean for research, Buhler provides oversight for and coordination of the CANR's research program.
Before being named associate director in 2005, Buhler served as acting associate director and CANR acting associate dean for research from March to December 2005. He was chairperson of the MSU Department of Crop and Soil Sciences from 2000 to 2005.
Buhler was born and raised on a dairy farm in southern Wisconsin. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and his master's and doctoral degrees (both in agronomy) from the University of Nebraska.
After receiving his doctorate, Buhler returned to the University of Wisconsin, where he taught and advised undergraduates and conducted research on weed biology, management and conservation. He joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) in St. Paul, Minn., in 1989 with research responsibilities in weed management and water quality. In 1993, Buhler was transferred to the USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, where his research responsibilities included weed biology, ecology and management in corn and soybean production systems.
Buhler's research and outreach activities focus on the responses of weed populations to various crop and soil management systems. His research results are being used to develop and implement improved weed management systems and have resulted in more than 330 publications, including 125 refereed journal and review articles.
Buhler has been the author or editor of three books and an invited presenter at numerous seminars, symposia and workshops. He served as an associate editor for Weed Science and Weed Technology and is a consulting editor for the Journal of Crop Production. Buhler is a fellow of the North Central Weed Science Society, the Weed Science Society of America, the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America.
John Baker
Associate Director, AgBioResearch
517-884-3868
baker@anr.msu.edu
John Baker serves as the AgBioResearch liaison to Michigan animal commodity groups and the Animal Agriculture Initiative (AAI). The AAI is a partnership of Michigan livestock producers and affiliated organizations, the Michigan Department of Agriculture, and two colleges and five departments at MSU that identifies and prioritizes industry research and education needs. Baker also provides leadership as AgBioResearch moves forward with its biomedical research portfolio.
Baker served as acting director from November 2004 to November 2005. A faculty member of the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) for 22 years, he began his career in 1984 in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, where he served as section head for Food Animal Medicine and Surgery and as acting dean of the CVM. Before being named associate director, he was CVM associate dean for research and graduate studies, director of the University Research Containment Facility and CVM Vivarium, and a professor of large animal clinical sciences.
Baker is board certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. He serves in numerous professional societies concerned with veterinary medicine, research and large animal industries, and has served on many college and university committees. He was honored in 2004 by the Association for Women Veterinarians with the group's Distinguished Service Award. Baker received his bachelor's, master's and doctor of veterinary medicine degrees from Ohio State University. He served a clinical internship and clinical residency at the University of Minnesota and received a doctorate in large animal clinical sciences from the University of Minnesota.
Steven Pueppke
Director, CANR Global and Strategic Initiatives;
Associate Vice President, Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies
517/355-0123, ext. 100
pueppke@msu.edu
Steve Pueppke came to MSU in 2005 from the University of Illinois, where he had been associate dean for research in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences since 1998.
He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In this role, Pueppke helps examine the long-term impacts of biotechnology on the U.S. food and agriculture system and helps guide the USDA on issues related to the application of biotechnology in agriculture.
Pueppke serves on several boards and committees within the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges focusing on experiment station policy. He is a past president of the board of the National Council on Food and Agricultural Research and past chairperson of the National Agricultural Biotechnology Council.
He is also a member of numerous professional societies, including the Phi Kappa Phi honor society and Sigma Xi scientific research society.
A Spartan alumnus and professor of plant pathology, Pueppke received his undergraduate degree in horticulture from MSU. He received a doctorate in plant pathology from Cornell University.
Before moving to the University of Illinois, Pueppke served as chairperson of the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Missouri and as plant sciences unit leader. He was a visiting professor at the University of Geneva, Switzerland (1989-90) and the University of Marburg, Germany (1996-97). He was also a faculty member in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Florida and in the Department of Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis (1976-79). He served as senior research associate at the Charles F. Kettering Laboratories during 1975-76.
Bev Riedinger
Finance and Business Manager
517-884-3877
rieding1@msu.edu
Bev Riedinger is responsible for all the financial matters of AgBioResearch, as well as day-to-day office operations and human resources matters. Contact her with any financial questions, including allocations, renewals, start-ups and grants.
Jackie DeSander
Project GREEEN Administrative Assistant
517-884-3862
desander@msu.edu
Jackie serves as the administrative assistant for Project GREEEN (Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs), Michigan's plant initiative, as well as assistant to Doug Buhler. Contact Jackie to schedule a meeting with Doug Buhler.
Tonia DuMont
Administrative Assistant
517-884-3861
tdumont@anr.msu.edu
Tonia is the administrative assistant for the AgBioResearch director. Contact her to schedule a meeting with Steve Pueppke or John Baker.
Linda Haubert
Projects Administrator
517-884-3863
maesprj@msu.edu
Linda manages the paperwork for all the federal and state research projects and all the national multistate committees/projects. She also handles all multistate research travel, manages the multistate portion of the AgBioResearch budget, and prepares financial and other federal unit reports. If you have a question about CRIS project paperwork or multistate travel, talk to Linda.
Bill Humphrey
Preaward Coordinator
517-884-3871
humphre4@anr.msu.edu
Bill coordinates the Preawards Office and helps AgBioResearch departments, units and faculty members prepare and submit grant applications and contracts. If you have a question about anything to do with a grant, talk to Bill.
Holly Whetstone
Communications Manager
517-884-3864
whetst11@msu.edu
Holly coordinates AgBioResearch marketing and public relations activities and assists with print and electronic communications including publications, media releases, website content, trade shows and strategic communications planning.