Please reach out to us if you would like to join the team!
Senior personnel
Dr. Keng-Lou James Hung <KLJHung(at)ou.edu> [curriculum vitae]
Assistant Professor, Oklahoma Biological Survey and Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory
James is a pollination ecologist from Vancouver, Canada. James's research focuses broadly on plant-pollinator mutualisms, with an emphasis on quantifying impacts of environmental variables on pollinator communities and the pollination services they provide. In his spare time, James enjoys being outdoors with his kids, making food with his wife, growing vegetables, photographing wildlife, and playing the violin in his church band. James's favorite insects are bees, of course! His favorite non-bee insect is the mole cricket.
Staff
Izzy Gonzales <isabelle.s.gonzales-1(at)ou.edu>
Research Technician
Izzy is an alum of Oklahoma State, currently working on bumble bee surveys around the state of Oklahoma.
Graduate students
Lauren Rosenfelt <laurenmrosenfelt(at)ou.edu>
MSc Student 2022 -
Lauren Rosenfelt is a freelance natural science illustrator and Plant Biology graduate student co-advised by Dr. Lara Souza. She graduated from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in 2014 with a BFA and minor in Liberal Arts. Since graduating, she focused on the world of business and management which allowed her to begin her own artistic practice. Her art and research focuses on sharing the importance of native wildlife and plant species to ecosystem functions. When Lauren is not working on her research, commissions, and graduate course assignments she enjoys spending time with her husband, dog, and family. To inquire about illustrations, please contact Lauren at <laurenrosenfeltart(at)gmail.com>.
Sam O'Dell <sodell(at)ou.edu>
PhD Student 2022 -
Sam is an ecologist who enjoys working with plants, pollinators, and interactions between these two fascinating groups! He has worked for a variety of government institutions on the ecology and management of various insect taxa. He recently completed his MSc degree at San Diego Sate University, where he studied seasonal patterns of plant-pollinator interaction networks. In his free time, he enjoys being in nature with his family, soccer, rollerblading, and the beach. His favorite insect (for now) is Habropoda depressa, the California mountain-digger bee.
Ben Turnley <benturnley(at)ou.edu>
PhD Student 2023 -
Ben is interested in native bee community ecology and conservation biology. He completed his MSc degree at the University of New Mexico. While at UNM, he assessed changes in community-level trait values and functional diversity of the Sevilleta LTER bee assemblage with climate change. In his free time Ben enjoys hiking, birdwatching, soccer, tennis, and disc golf. His favorite insects are alkali bees (Nomia spp.)
Jackson Wingert <jackson.t.wingert-1(at)ou.edu>
MSc Student 2023 -
Jackson completed his Bachelor’s in Entomology at Texas A&M University. He is interested in studying parasites and parasitoids of solitary bees. In his free time he enjoys expanding his personal insect collection and playing Dungeons and Dragons. His favorite insect is Atta texana, the Texas Leafcutter Ant.
Undergraduate students
Izzy Encapera
Honors College First-Year Research Experience Scholar
Izzy is a freshman psychology major from Wichita, KS. She is working in the lab as a part of the FYRE program. In her free time, she enjoys photography, embroidery, and going to antique malls to find vintage teacups for her collection. Her favorite organisms are Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana).
Austin Hill
Undergraduate Research Associate
Austin is an undergraduate student at the University of Oklahoma pursuing a biology degree. With a long-time interest in entomology, he is currently processing specimens for the bumble bee surveys conducted around the state of Oklahoma. His favorite insects are antlions and their relative owlflies.
Israel Lugo
Undergraduate Research Associate
Israel Lugo is from OKC and is currently a senior in the Environmental Studies department. He is studying the effectiveness of different green spaces as a resource for early spring butterflies. In his free time, he likes to attend to his plant collection, work on his vehicles, enjoy nature, and flower bomb lots or parks with his dogs. His favorite butterfly is the Monarch, Danaus plexippus.
Abby Ren
Honors Research Assistant
Abby is from the Tulsa area, and she is currently a sophomore majoring in biochemistry. Abby studies the food resources used by urban pollinators active in the early spring. In her downtime, she enjoys doing crosswords, playing Stardew Valley, and watching animal videos on YouTube. Her favorite organisms are common rain frogs (Breviceps adspersus) and mourning doves (Zenaida macroura).
Jayden Thomas
Undergraduate Research Associate
Jayden is a current undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma pursuing a biology degree. His research focuses on plant species and ecosystems functions. In his free time, he enjoys reading and listening to music. His favorite organism is the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
Jayden Thomas
Undergraduate Research Associate
Jayden is a current undergraduate at the University of Oklahoma pursuing a biology degree. His research focuses on plant species and ecosystems functions. In his free time, he enjoys reading and listening to music. His favorite organism is the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
Lab alumni
Alec VanCuren (2022-2023)
Research Technician
Alec started as an undergraduate research associate, during which he helped established the quantum dot protocol for studying pollen transfer at our lab. He also performed bumble bee surveys around the state of Oklahoma. He is currently interested in studying how alpine mammal migrations and core habitat are impacted by land-use changes and a warming climate, using either bears or ground squirrels as focal taxa.
Brooke Hadden (2022-2023)
Honors Thesis Scholar
Brooke's honors thesis focused on the effects of mowing on the blooming phenology of weedy Symphyotrichum species in central Oklahoma, and the pollinator species that forage on this plant. Prior to beginning her honors thesis, she was also a member of the early spring pollinators team.
Mary Powley (2022-2023)
Research Technician
Mary was our first field and lab technician and was instrumental in setting up the lab and conducting baseline surveys of bees in Oklahoma. After her time in our lab, she started a PhD in the Dan Cariveau Lab at the University of Minnesota.
Abbygail Tan (2021-2022)
Undergraduate Research Associate
Abbygail studied pollen flow, and built and deploying wooden nest blocks to study nest-site selection by cavity-nesting Hymenoptera.
Abbygail Tan (2021-2022)
Undergraduate Research Associate
Abbygail studied pollen flow, and built and deploying wooden nest blocks to study nest-site selection by cavity-nesting Hymenoptera.
Jenna Howery (2021-2022)
Undergraduate Research Associate
Jenna assisted with processing bee specimens for the Oklahoma Native Bee Inventory Project.
Jenna Howery (2021-2022)
Undergraduate Research Associate
Jenna assisted with processing bee specimens for the Oklahoma Native Bee Inventory Project.
Tori Wierzchowski (2021-2022)
Honors Thesis Scholar
Tori's honors thesis focused on documenting pollinators' use of early-spring-blooming wild and ornamental plant species in urban landscapes.
Tori Wierzchowski (2021-2022)
Honors Thesis Scholar
Tori's honors thesis focused on documenting pollinators' use of early-spring-blooming wild and ornamental plant species in urban landscapes.