Plants, People, and the Planet

Dr. Nathaniel Mitkowski is a professor of plant pathology in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. He teaches introductory horticulture and numerous upper level classes in turf and ornamental pathology, turfgrass management and plant improvement. His research is split between diseases of turfgrasses and plant-parasitic nematodes. He has authored dozens of papers on turfgrass and nematode diseases and is nationally recognized for his work in these fields. He received a Ph.D in plant pathology from Cornell University in 2001.Dr. Bridget Ruemmele is a professor of plant breeding in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Rhode Island. She teaches introductory horticulture, turfgrass management, fruit culture, weed science and plant breeding and genetics. Her specialization is in turfgrass improvement and she has worked on the development of many different improved turfgrass varieties. She received her Ph.D in horticulture from the University of Minnesota in 1989.