COS “Superman of Environmental Conservation” Returns

An esteemed professor is returning to the ranks in the biology department.  C. Ross Hinkle, Ph.D., who after serving as the Vice Provost and Dean for the College of Graduate Studies, has decided to return to the College of Sciences as a senior faculty member in biology.

Hinkle joined UCF in 2007 as chair of the biology department.  In October 2013, Hinkle was named vice provost and dean of the College of Graduate Studies, after serving as the interim dean of Graduate Studies since January 2012. Now returning to the biology department as a senior faculty member, he will provide guidance and mentorship to new tenure-track faculty.

“I am excited about returning to the department to focus more fully on my research projects and graduate student mentoring,” he said.

Hinkle looks forward to continuing his extensive research in coastal systems and ecology.  Specifically, he has been focusing on research related to ecosystem carbon dynamics and the effects of rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide on ecosystem processes, structure and function.

Hinkle will continue his dedication and involvement in conservation efforts to protect endangered land in Central Florida, which has given him the nickname “superman of environmental conservation.”  He also wants to spend more time publishing the research being produced from a new grant sponsored by the Department of Energy. “I have over 20 years of research related to the carbon dynamics questions,” Hinkle said.

Prior to UCF, Dr. Hinkle was a chief scientist at a biological consulting company for NASA, working at Kennedy Space Center.