Dr. Burke is an ecosystem ecologist whose research has focused on carbon and nitrogen cycling in
dryland ecosystems. She received her B.S. in Biology from Middlebury College and her Ph.D. in Botany
from the University of Wyoming, and has taught at Colorado State University and the University of
Wyoming. Her work with graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and colleagues has addressed how
drylands are influenced by land use management, climatic variability, and regional variability. She
teaches in the fields of environmental science, ecosystem ecology, and biogeochemistry.
She has received over $20m in grant support for research, and published over 150 peer-reviewed
articles, chapters, books, and reports. Burke has served as a member of several National Research
Council (NRC) committees to review national environmental research programs and policies, as a
member of the NRC Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, on the national Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Science Advisory Board, and as a member of numerous National Science
Foundation, NASA, EPA, and other advisory panels. She has served on editorial boards for a number of
nationally ranked scientific journals.
A respected educator and intellectual leader in the U.S. and internationally, Dean Burke is particularly
interested in fostering interdisciplinary scholarship. She came to YSE in 2016 from the University of
Wyoming, where she was the dean of the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, one of
the leading institutions in the western U.S. for research, teaching, and outreach on natural resource
issues.
Selected Honors and Awards
National:
• 2019- Fellow, Ecological Society of America
• 2010- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Sciences
• 2004–’05 National Academy of Sciences Education Fellow in the Life Sciences
• 1993–’98 National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellow Award
University:
• 2012 Promoting Intellectual Engagement Award, University of Wyoming
• 2008 USDA Agricultural Research Service, Rangeland Resources Unit: Award for Enhancing Collaborative
Research Partnerships
• 2007 Colorado State University, Warner College Distinguished Teaching/Advising Award
• 2005 & 1995 Colorado State University Honors Professor
• 2001 University Distinguished Teaching Scholar, Colorado State University (lifetime title)
• 2000 Mortar Board Rose Award, Colorado State University