Scientific Staff

Christine E. Carrier, MS

Center for Tree Science Integrated Mentorship Program Coordinator

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As the Center for Tree Science’s Integrated Mentorship Program coordinator, Christine Carrier provides critical support to the research department at the Arboretum.

Upon earning her MS in geography, Carrier joined The Morton Arboretum as a research assistant in the Forest Ecology Research Group. With experience in both lab and fieldwork, Carrier coordinated multiple research projects and managed teams of volunteers while assisting in the implementation of an annual summer internship program.

In her role as Integrated Mentorship Program coordinator, she oversees the Arboretum’s Integrated Mentorship Program, which offers a wide range of proposal-based research fellowships and internship activities. She also leads the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, funded by the National Science Foundation.

In addition, Carrier helps the Arboretum’s Science and Conservation department advance the vision of the Arboretum and serves as a member of interdepartmental councils and committees. She provides lab and field site tours, and presents to students and professionals on the importance of mentorship. Her research interests include biogeography, climate change, and phenology.

Accomplishments

Following an earlier career in hotel management, Carrier returned to school to earn a BS in geography, specializing in natural environmental systems. As an undergraduate student, Christine was a research assistant on a National Science Foundation grant simulating the effects of climate change on sugar maple (Acer saccharum) seedlings at the deciduous and boreal forest ecotone. She continued this work as a graduate student, investigating carbon assimilation and water-use efficiency in the herbaceous understory layer in Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada.

During her time in the Forest Ecology Research Program at The Morton Arboretum, Carrier assisted with the Southern Des Plaines Adaptive Management Project in Lake County, Illinois, which investigated the effect of restoration-focused silviculture on oak regeneration and groundlayer plant communities in urban-exurban oak woodlands. The results allow land managers to identify low-intensity methods to restore and manage the region’s oak ecosystems.

Education

MS, Geography (Biogeography)

Northern Illinois University
Dekalb, IL

BS, Geography (Natural Environment Systems)

Northern Illinois University
Dekalb, IL