David Nelson

Dr. Nelson is Director of the Appalachian Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science in Frostburg, Maryland. He is responsible for operations and programs of the Lab, including strategic planning and implementation; faculty hiring, mentorship, and promotion; budget and resource planning; external relations; advancement; facilities management and planning; information technology services; and promoting a culture of belonging and civility.

His research uses chemical signatures called stable isotopes to investigate the effects of environmental changes on ecological and biogeochemical processes. He has worked on a variety of organisms and ecosystems across various temporal scales throughout the world. He founded and directs the Central Appalachians Stable Isotope Facility, which is housed at the Appalachian Lab and provides stable isotope measurements for clients around the world.

Dr. Nelson has served in various leadership positions throughout his career. He serves on the editorial boards of the journals Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment and PeerJ. He is actively involved in various science outreach activities in western Maryland and nearby West Virginia.

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. He joined the faculty of the Appalachian Lab in 2009. He was a visiting scholar at Nagoya University in Japan in spring 2017 and graduated from Leadership Maryland in 2022.