JOHN
M. BLAIR
University Distinguished Professor of Biology
Director, long-term ecological research program, Konza Prairie
Biological Station
John
M. Blair is a terrestrial ecosystem ecologist, with broad interests
that include studies of nutrient cycling and plant productivity
in grasslands, the ecological consequences of changes in land-use
and climate, grassland restoration ecology, and the ecology of
soil invertebrates. A major focus of his research is the Konza
Prairie, where he leads the National Science Foundation-funded
long-term ecological research program, aimed at understanding
the biological and physical factors controlling ecological communities
and processes in grasslands, and how grasslands respond to global
change.
Blair's research has been supported by more than $20 million in grants from the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture and others. He is author of 77 journal articles and book chapters. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in ecology, and has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students.
Blair has served on numerous working groups and committees charged with developing national research priorities in the U.S. He has served on the editorial board of Ecology, the flagship journal of the Ecological Society of America, and other international journals in the field of soil ecology.
He is a member of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the Ecological Society of America, the International Soil Science Society and the Soil Ecology Society. He joined the K-State faculty in 1992 as assistant professor in the Division of Biology. He was promoted to associate professor in 1997, and to professor in 2001. He was named a University Distinguished Professor in spring 2006.
He was recognized for outstanding undergraduate teaching in 1998 by K-State's College of Arts and Sciences. Before coming to K-State, Blair was a research scientist at Ohio State University. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1980 and a master's degree in 1983, both in biology, from Kent State University, Ohio; and a doctorate in entomology from the University of Georgia in 1987.
Blair can be reached at 785-532-7065, or via e-mail at jblair@k-state.edu.