Rodney Dever's Biodiversity Page
  • Home
  • Our Herbarium
  • Research
  • WV Wild Flowers
  • Contact Me
  • Links

Rodney David Dever
Botanist

Picture
Shepherd University
Department of Biology








Education

MS. West Virginia University, Department of Biology, Systematic Botany, 2014

International Diploma in Herbarium Techniques, Brooklyn and Kew Botanic Gardens, NY 2012
​

BS. Shepherd University, Environmental Science, 2005

​           
Dirca Palustris - Leatherwood Tree

Professional Experience

Herbarium Manager, Department of Biology, West Virginia University 2011-12 Supervised staff and volunteers
  • Taught herbarium workshops for students and the general public
  • Prepared, sent and received loans
  • Rendered species determinations
  • Assisted visiting researchers
  • Collected specimens in the field

Graduate Teaching Assistantships

Introductory Biology, West Virginia University, Organized and facilitated laboratory sections; created and graded laboratory and lecture exams 2008-10 (5 semesters).
Total Science experience- a non-traditional class, West Virginia University, Organized and executed laboratory sections and field trips, graded reports 2007-8 (1 semester).


Research Interests

  • Plant Biosystematics - Speciation
  • Floristics
  • Herbarium Techniques


Professional Memberships


  • American Society of Plant Taxonomists
  • Association of Southeastern Biologists
  • Southeast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC)
  • Southern Appalachian Botanical Society, West Virginia Academy of Science


Internships


Shenandoah National Park, Vegetation Survey, Front Royal Virginia 2005

  • Mapped park vegetation in the field and used GPS for orienteering
  • Plotted points on ArcGIS
  • Determined forest community types
  • Monitored for and treated exotics
  • Collected and mounted plants
  • Compiled a webpage on Betula lenta  

Smithsonian - US National Herbarium, Washington, DC 2003-4

  • Sorted through the collection focusing on those families and species represented in the San Jacinto Mountains of California and then cataloged them into a database
  • Separated fragile non-mounted specimens at the Museum Support Center, in Suitland Maryland
  • Digitally photographed hundreds of plant specimens in the National “Liberia Project” using Adobe Photoshop

USDA Germplasm Repository, Beltsville, MD 2003

  • Inventoried germplasm from tree species from around the world, kept in cold storage – many of these plants are endangered and on the Red List
  • Propagated new shoots from seed or from cuttings removed from mature trees


Awards

Melvin Brown Plant Taxonomy Memorial Award ($4,000, 2008-9)
Travel Award, American Society of Plant Taxonomist ($270, 2009)
Travel Award, Southeast Regional Network of Expertise and Collections ($1410, 2010)
Melvin Brown Plant Taxonomy Memorial Award ($4,000, 2012)


Posters Presented at Professional Meetings

Dever, R.D., D.I. Ford-Werntz. 2011. Scape Anatomy of the Allium cernuum Complex in Appalachia. Annual Meeting, Midcontinent Paleobotanical Colloquium 28, Raleigh, NC.
Dever, R.D., D.I. Ford-Werntz. 2010. Taxonomy of the Allium cernuum Complex in Appalachia. Annual Meeting, Botanical Society of America, Providence, RI.
Dever, R.D., D.I. Ford-Werntz. 2009. The Allium cernuum Complex in Appalachia. Annual Meeting, Botanical Society of America, Snowbird, UT.
Dever, R.D., D.I. Ford-Werntz. 2008. The nodding onion: one species or three? West Virginia Academy of Science, Fairmont, WV.



Contact:

Shepherd University
Department of Biology

301 North King Street
PO Box 5000
Shepherdstown, WV 25443




Cell: (304) 676-7438

Email: [email protected]


Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.