Biography
I have been a member of the Biology and Psychology Departments at Clarkson University since 1999. I teach courses in the areas of Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation Science. I also work with various national efforts to improve university education in ecology and other areas of biology, and have done workshops for K-12 science teachers on integrated math and ecology. I enjoy field-based environmental education, and regularly teach field courses in the Adirondack Mountains of New York and Costa Rica. My research focuses on environmental management, including wetland restoration, road ecology, and endangered species conservation. I am a consultant to NGOs, state and federal agencies on environmental management issues, and I conduct workshops on road ecology and management for agencies and academic institutions in the US, Canada, and Latin America. I work as a volunteer for the local (St. Lawrence ) Land Trust, Northern New York Audubon, and Grasse River Heritage. My little free time is spent with my family cooking, gardening, or exploring the Adirondacks.
Education Background
Biology Postdoc - University of California, Los Angeles
Biology Ph.D. - 1994 University of California, San Diego
Biology (Honors) B.S. - 1984 Purdue University
Teaching Interests
Dr. Langen’s teaching interests include how to best apply problem-based learning and inquiry approaches to improve teaching in ecology and conservation biology, use of publicly-available ‘big data’ including citizen science data for undergraduate teaching and research, and how to design undergraduate summer research internship programs to best achieve program objectives. He has served as a Director or Co-Director of several Research Experience for Undergraduates, Undergraduate Bio-Math, and Organization for Tropical Science Programs, and has been involved in K-12 STEM professional development. He teaches courses on ecology, animal behavior, conservation science, and global environmental change.
Research Interests
Aim: To use science and education to improve conservation and management of nature in human-dominated landscapes.
Methods: Fieldwork (experiments, observational studies) on species, habitat assessments, computer modeling using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), meta-analysis.
Applications: Adaptive Management of natural resources, conservation of threatened species and habitats, infrastructure design, curricular development.
Broader impacts: Environmental quality, conservation of threatened species, improved infrastructure design and management, conservation education and capacity building.
Dr. Langen conducts research on the environmental impact of roads, on the effectiveness of public-private partnerships for wetland restoration, and on habitat management and conservation of birds and other animals. His road-related research has included the impacts of winter road management on roadside vegetation and lakes in the Adirondack Park, predictive modeling of hotspots of road mortality of amphibians and reptiles, design and functioning of wildlife barriers and passageways for turtles, and the impact of highways on habitat connectivity in Costa Rican National Parks. He leads professional development workshops in Latin America and North America on the environmental impact of roads and other infrastructure. Dr. Langen’s wetland research focuses on the environmental, economic, and social benefits and costs of wetland restoration to private landowners. His research on habitat management in birds focuses on cooperative projects between land-owners and conservationists for threatened species such as the golden-winged warbler or spruce grouse. Dr. Langen’s teaching interests include how to best apply problem-based learning and inquiry approaches to improve teaching in ecology and conservation biology, use of publically-available ‘big data’ including citizen science data for undergraduate teaching and research, and how to design undergraduate summer research internship programs to best achieve program objectives.
Awards
EXTERNAL AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
- Editor’s Choice of December 2014 issue of Biological Conservation, for Consentino et al. (2014) Biological
Conservation 180:31-38. December, 2014 - Network of Conservation Educators & Practitioners (NCEP) Professor of the Month October, 2011
- Ecological Society of America Education Scholar Award 2011
- Fulbright Scholar, Costa Rica 2007-2008
- Presidential Award, Society of American Naturalists for the best paper of the previous year in the journal
American Naturalist, as judged by the Society’s President 2005 - National Institutes of Health National Research Service Award 1994-1996
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
• Phalanx Honorary Leadership Society | 2024
• Phalanx Commendable Leadership Award | 2024
• Phalanx Distinguished Service Award (for the Re-Imagine Clarkson Faculty Task Force) | 2024
• Clarkson University Distinguished Teaching Award | 2022
• Clarkson Million Dollar Club (million dollars in external grants) | 2019
• Clarkson University Outstanding Advisor Award | 2011
• Accommodative Services RESPECT Award Nominee | 2011
• US Professor of the Year Award Nominee | 2007
• Clarkson University Student Association Outstanding Teacher Award | 2003
Publications
(Last 5 years)
- Langen, T.A., C. Benson, and R. Welsh. 2026. Walking the land with property owners. Frontiers in Ecology & the Environment, doi:10.1002/fee.70023 .
- Jackson, S., A.J. Burrows, G. Johnson, E.M. McCluskey, T.A. Langen. Predicting road encounter hotspots for infrequently detected species and haphazardly collected data – a case study with Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii ). Ecology & Evolution Accepted
- Tusher, M.S.H., T.A.Langen, H. Ghamry, C. Katopodis, A.B.M. Baki. 2026. Dynamic behavior of juvenile salmonids within a channel dominated by instream boulders. Journal of Ecohydraulics. In revision.
- Giunta, F., B.V. Hernout, T.A. Langen, M.R. Twiss. 2024. A systematic review of trace elements in the tissues of bats (Chiroptera). Environmental Pollution 124349 .
- Carlson, D.M., S. Schlueter, D. Selner, T.A. Langen, G. Johnson. 2024. Mooneye, Hiodon tergisus (Lesueur), in the Oswegatchie River Basin, New York: Findings from 2021–2023. Northeastern Naturalist 31(2):231-241.
https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.2067 - Ross, A., T.A. Langen, G. Johnson. 2023. Effectiveness of long-distance translocation for population
supplementation of an endangered spruce grouse population in New York. Journal of Wildlife Management 87(2) e22346, https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22346 - Langen, T.A. 2023. How to get a job offer from a smaller joint teaching-research mission university and what to do once you have it. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 104(3):e02067
- Langen, T.A., J.L. Beach, J.T. Boulerice, L.W. Halstrom V, A.R. Lamb, A.M. Ross. 2022. How to be a professional ecological field technician or an effective supervisor of them. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 103(3) 1-23, E01985. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1985
- Ellwood, E.R., J.A. Sessa, J.K. Abraham, A.E. Budden, N. Douglas, R. Guralnick, E. Krimmel, T. Langen, D. Linton, M. Phillips, P.S. Soltis, M. Studer, L.D. White, J. Williams, and A.K. Monfils. 2020. Biodiversity science and the twenty-first century workforce. Bioscience 70:119-121.
https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biz147 - Monge-Velázquez, M., T.A. Langen, J. Sáenz. 2022. Seasonal high road mortality of Incilius luetkenii (Anura: Bufonidae) along the Pan-American highway bisecting the Guanacaste Conservation Area, Costa Rica. Herpetological Conservation & Biology 17(1):14–21.
- McCluskey E.M., V. Lulla, W.E. Peterman, K.M. Stryszowska, R.D. Denton, A.C. Fries, T.A. Langen, G. Johnson, S.W. Mockford, R.A. Gonser. 2022. Linking genetic structure, species distribution modeling, and landscape genetics for regional conservation of a threatened freshwater turtle. Landscape Ecology 37:1017–1034.
- Carberry, B., T.A. Langen, M.R. Twiss. 2021. Surface water quality differs between functionally similar restored and natural wetlands of the Saint Lawrence River Valley in New York. Land 10(7): 676.
https://doi.org/10.3390/land10070676 - Abeyrathna, W.A.N.U., T.A. Langen. 2021. Effect of daylight savings time clock shifts on deer- vehicle collision rates. Journal of Environmental Management 292: 112774.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112774 - Langen, T.A., C.H. Cannon., D.C. Blackburn, E.L. Morgan, P.E. Mera. 2021. Defining and applying the urban rules of life to design sustainable and healthy cities. Journal of Integrative and Comparative Biology 61:1237-1252.
https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icab065
Book Chapters
- Langen T.A., Colino-Rabanal, V.J. (2025) Reptiles and roads: What we know and what we need to learn. In (M. D'Amico, R. Barrientos, F. Ascensao, eds.) Road Ecology: Synthesis and Perspectives. Springer-Verlag. In press.
- Ascensão,F., R. Barrientos, … T.A. Langen, et al. (2026) Charting the path ahead: key research priorities in Road Ecology. In (M. D'Amico, R. Barrientos, F. Ascensao, eds.) Road Ecology: Synthesis and Perspectives. Springer-Verlag. In press.
- Kavanagh, K., A. Cohen, E. Blauvelt, D. Travedi, C.C. Robinson, B. Galluzo, T.A. Langen, S. Rivera, L.J. Perry.
(2024) Creating a holistic, continuous approach to learning communities: from unconference to teaching circles to focused reflection. In (K.N. Rainville, D. Title, C. Desrochers, eds.) Expanding the Vision of Faculty Learning Communities in Higher Education: Emerging Opportunities for Faculty to Engage Each Other in Learning, Teaching and Support. Transforming Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Series. Information Age Publishing, Inc. - Curry, R.L., A.T. Peterson, T.A. Langen, P. Pyle, and M.A. Patten (2020). Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma woodhouseii), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.wooscj2.01
- Curry, R L., A. T. Peterson, T.A. Langen, P. Pyle, and M.A. Patten (2020). California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.cowscj1.01
Popular Articles
- Langen, T.A. 2025. The surprising recovery of once-rare birds. The Conversation, 9 September 2025.
https://theconversation.com/the-surprising-recovery-of-once-rare-birds-263595 - Langen, T.A. 2022. Birds migrate along ancient routes – here are the latest high-tech tools scientists are using to study their amazing journeys. The Conversation, 2 September 2022.
https://theconversation.com/do-humans-really-need-other-species-185171 - Langen, T.A. 2022. Curious Kids: Why do humans really need other species? The Conversation, 29 August 2022.
https://theconversation.com/do-humans-really-need-other-species-185171 - Langen, T.A. 2022. Curious Kids: Why do flocks of birds swoop and swirl together in the sky? A biologist explains the science of murmurations. The Conversation, 14 March 2022. Republished in the Washington Post, 9 April 2022
https://theconversation.com/why-do-flocks-of-birds-swoop-and-swirl-together-in-the-sky-a-biologist-explains-the-science-of-murmurations-176194 - Langen, T.A. 2021. Another problem with daylight saving time: The time change raises your risk of hitting deer on the road. The Conversation, 4 November 2021.
https://theconversation.com/another-problem-with-daylight-saving-time-the-time-change-raises-your-risk-of-hitting-deer-on-the-road-170904 - Langen, T.A. 2021. Fall means more deer on the road: 4 ways time of day, month and year raise your risk of
Crashes. The Conversation, 21 September 2021. https://theconversation.com/fall-means-more-deer-on-the-road-4-ways-time-of-day-month-and-year-raise-your-risk-of-crashes-167489 - Langen, T.A. 2020. Curious Kids: How do geese know how to fly south for the winter? The Conversation, 16 November 2020.
https://theconversation.com/how-do-geese-know-how-to-fly-south-for-the-winter-149225#
Interviews
- How Conservation Efforts Brought Rare Birds Back from The Brink (Science Friday, 9/19/25
https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/conservation-rare-birds-recovery/ - Mosquito-borne illnesses are a growing threat in the North Country. Climate change could make it worse
(NCPR Northern Lights, 9/19/25
https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/50614/20241202/mosquito-borne-illnesses-are-a-growing-threat-in-the-north-country-climate-change-could-make-it-worse ) - Tom Langen/CU Biologist on Cicadas (B99.3 Community Connection, 3/4/24,
https://soundcloud.com/newsb99-3/community-connection-3-4-24?si=e3db2dced1194ad8af10d27259b6c5c6) )