David Nelson

Dr. David M. Nelson is an ecologist and Director of the Appalachian Laboratory at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Frostburg, Maryland. He is responsible for Lab operations and programs, including strategic planning; faculty hiring, mentorship, and promotion; budget and resource allocation; external relations; advancement; facilities management; and promoting a healthy workplace culture.

Recent strategic highlights under Nelson’s leadership include:

• Operations and Sustainability: Initiatives including a roof-top solar array and energy efficiency measures to reduce indirect (scope 2) emissions, an ongoing effort to transition the Lab away from direct (scope 1) emissions, bird-friendly window treatments, and wired and wireless data network upgrades.

• Innovative Philanthropy: Establishment of The Appalachian Laboratory Investor Network (TALIN), a privately funded program to accelerate early-stage, high-impact environmental research across Appalachia.

• Workforce Development: Launch of an internship program expanding pathways for undergraduate students from regional institutions to engage in experiential learning and high-impact research with Lab scientists.

• Community Engagement: Establishment of (1) the Appalachian Laboratory Inspiration Award, which recognizes those who share a commitment to future generations by advancing STEM in the tri-state region and (2) the CleanTech Research and Development Grant to promote public-private partnerships in environmental science in Allegany County.

In addition to his administrative leadership, Dr. Nelson maintains an active, globally recognized research program in the field of stable isotope ecology. His portfolio has been sustained by >$11M in competitive funding from federal and state agencies, and he has authored over 80 publications in peer-reviewed journals, including Science, PNAS, Nature Reviews Biodiversity, Ecology Letters, and Global Change Biology. A major component of his current research focuses on assessing the impacts of renewable energy development on migratory wildlife populations, particularly bats and birds, to inform conservation and management decisions. He founded and directs the Central Appalachians Stable Isotope Facility (CASIF), an institutional core facility that houses state-of-the-art instrumentation and supports collaborative research efforts worldwide.

Dr. Nelson also contributes to the broader scientific community and public service, including through his contributions to international peer-review governance as an editorial board member for Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment and PeerJ, and as a Science Advisor to the Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute.

He received a B.A. in Biology from Trinity Christian College and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Illinois. He held postdoctoral positions at the University of Illinois and Harvard University before joining the faculty of the Appalachian Lab in 2009. He was a visiting fellow at Nagoya University in Japan in spring 2017 and graduated from Leadership Maryland in 2022.