Office Address
1475 Gortner Ave
St. Paul, MN 55108
United States
Clarence Lehman
Adjunct Faculty
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Research statement
A guiding principle is to do my part in learning to manage the earth's combined physical-biological-social dynamics for long-term habitability, both by humans and our fellow creatures. A major physical-biological concern is the earth's stability, and I conduct bioenergy research aimed at parts of that. A major biological-social concern is infectious disease, and parts of my modelling efforts are aimed at that.
More generally, I am fascinated by computer applications to biology where computation is not only the tool, but the very paradigm for understanding the biological system. That includes application of artificial neural networks to problems of animal behavior, application of computer state-space searching concepts to complex fitness landscapes, and other interesting things.
My earlier life was in the computer industry, designing computer software and hardware. That earlier background now applies directly to questions in ecology, epidemiology, economics, and other branches of science, and has provided a diverse and fascinating range of applications. The abstract methods of mathematical and computer modelling are quite general — equations, eigenvalues, and algorithms are similar regardless of whether the object of inquiry is a whole ecosystem, a population of animals, an infection of viruses, or even the rise and fall of a nation's economy or the advance and retreat of the planet's ice caps. Computer science and biology have proved to be a useful symbiotic combination.
I also conduct several well-replicated field experiments that are part of an adaptive management strategy for my own native prairie and savanna restorations.
Background information
Academic Background, University of Minnesota
2000-2005: Associate Director, Cedar Creek Natural History Area
2010-2016: Associate Dean, Research, Graduate Education, College of Biological Sciences
2017-present: Special Advisor to the Dean, College of Biological Sciences
2000-present: Adjunct Faculty, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior