Professionally, I am a plant systematist (taxonomist), which means that I study how plants are classified and related to each other. I am also interested in natural areas in Illinois, especially prairies, and in botanical gardens and arboreta. I retired from the Illinois Natural History Survey in 2008, but remain an affiliate. 

Ph.D., Botany, Washington University and the Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, 1971
M.A., Botany, University of Kansas, 1967.
B.A., Botany, University of Kansas, 1965