Tom Gower Appointed Next Jordan Family Distinguished Professor

Dr. Tom Gower has been appointed as the next Jordan Family Distinguished Professor for Natural Resource Innovation.

As the Jordan Family Distinguished Professor, Dr. Gower will devote his efforts to research at the nexus of global change, carbon sequestration and forest management. His goal will be to lead an interdisciplinary modeling team comprised of an ecosystem process modeler (Gower), life cycle inventory modeler(s), and natural resource economist(s) to explore the question: how do we manage forests for fiber production (wood, paper and biofuel products) and carbon storage and sequestration in a changing climate and disturbance regime?

The Jordan Family Distinguished Professorship for Natural Resource Innovation was created through the generosity of Robert B. Jordan, III; Jack P. Jordan; Genie Jordan Ussery and Robert B. Jordan, IV. The goal of their gift was to recognize outstanding faculty members in the College of Natural Resources and empower them to build innovative research programs addressing emerging opportunities in natural resources that have the potential of impacting the economy, our quality of life, and environmental sustainability. The Jordan Family Endowments, with match provided by the College of Natural Resources, provide a faculty stipend, research support, graduate fellowships and undergraduate research awards to the Jordan Distinguished Professor for four years.

Dr. Gower joined the college as head of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources in 2014. He will step down June 30, 2020. Prior to joining NC State, Gower was a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology and faculty director of BioHouse, a living learning community program for undergraduates majoring in biological sciences. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Furman University, a Master of Science in Forest Ecology and a minor in Soil Science from NC State University, and a PhD in Forest Ecology from the University of Washington.