User:Axel Amundsen/sandbox

= Feng Sheng Hu = Feng Sheng Hu is a plant biologist and fellow of the Ecological Society of America.

Early Life and Education
Hu grew up in coastal Southern China and as a child aspired to be a musician. In his 20s he became the first in his family to attend college, graduating from Xiamen University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. In the late 1980s he immigrated to the United States and earned a Masters Degree in Botany and Quaternary Studies from the University of Maine in 1990. Hu then moved to Seattle, Washington to complete a PhD program in ecosystem sciences at the University of Washington. For four years he lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota conducting postdoctoral research using paleontological records to study global climate change at the University of Minnesota.

Career
Hu began teaching at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1998, serving in the plant biology department and as the Ralph E. Grimm Professor of Geology. In 2008 he became the head of the department of plant biology, continuing in active research until 2014. From 2014 to 2017, he served as the 17th associate dean for biological, chemical, physical and mathematical sciences in the college of liberal arts and sciences at Urbana-Champaign. In 2017 Hu was made the Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which accounts for more than one-third of the faculty on the Urbana campus. From 2017 to 2020 Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (LAS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

In March of 2020, it was announced that Hu was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as well as a professor of biology and of Earth and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. Hu assumed these roles on the first of July, 2020 and also serves as the Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor in Arts and Sciences.

In 2017, Hu was elected a fellow of the Ecological Society of America for “paradigm-shifting research” in paleoecology and contributions to the understanding of the ecological impacts of climate change in arctic and boreal regions.

Notable Publications
[https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/150063 Hu, F. S., Higuera, P. E., Duffy, P., Chipman, M. L., Rocha, A. V., Young, A. M., Dietze, M. C. (2015). “Arctic Tundra Fires: Natural Variability and Responses to Climate Change.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 13(7), 369–377.]

[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14512624/ Hu, F. S., Kaufman, D., Yoneji, S., Nelson, D., Shemesh, A., Huang, Y., … Brown, T. (2003). “Cyclic Variation and Solar Forcing of Holocene Climate in the Alaskan Subarctic (Reports).” Science, 301(5641), 1890.]

[https://experts.illinois.edu/en/publications/paleoecology-meets-genetics-deciphering-past-vegetational-dynamic Hu, F. S., Hampe, A., & Petit Rémy J. (2009). “Paleoecology Meets Genetics: Deciphering Past Vegetational Dynamics”. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 7(7), 371–379.]

[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226445925_Effects_of_Holocene_Alnus_Expansion_on_Aquatic_Productivity_Nitrogen_Cycling_and_Soil_Development_in_Southwestern_Alaska Hu, F. S., Finney, B. P., & Brubaker, L. B. (2001). “Effects of Holocene Alnus Expansion on Aquatic Productivity, Nitrogen Cycling, and Soil Development in Southwestern Alaska. Ecosystems, 4(4), 358–368.]

[https://asu.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/sedimentary-organic-matter-preservation-a-test-for-selective-degr Hedges, J. I., Hu, F. S., Devol, A. H., Hartnett, H. E., Tsakmakis, E., & Keil, R. G. (1999). “Sedimentary Organic Matter Preservation: a Test for Selective Degradation Under Oxic Conditions (Statistical Data Included).” American Journal of Science, 299(7-9), 529.]

Awards and Honors
Hu served as vice chair of the Paleoecology section of the Ecological society of America from 1996-1997, and as chair from 1997-1998. During his time at the University of Illinois he was named a Packard Fellow in Science and Engineering, a University Scholar of the University, a Fulbright Scholar, and a fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science 2008. Since 2008 he has served as an editor for the journal Ecology. Between 1996 and 2014, Hu received twenty National Science Foundation grants.

In 2017, Hi was named a fellow of Ecological Society of America for his research contributions to the understanding of climate change in the arctic.

Personal Life
Hu is an avid runner and hiker. He and his wife Sumi presently live in St. Louis. They have two children, Acadia and Brooks.