2026 Plenary Speakers

Melissa Cregger

Feedstock to fuel: leveraging plant-microbe interactions to grow sustainable bioenergy crops

Location: Bost Conference Center Auditorium

Melissa Cregger is a Chief Science Officer for the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She is broadly interested in understanding microbial community dynamics across ecosystems, and how changes in microbial community structure may influence ecosystem level processes. Specifically, she is interested in understanding the potential for changes in microbial diversity and composition to influence the health of associated host organisms and to alter large scale nutrient fluxes. Her research spans scales from the molecule to the ecosystem level, taking advantage of modern techniques to fully understand microbial interactions. She contributes to multiple research projects within ORNL including:

The Center for Bioenergy Innovation (https://cbi.ornl.gov/)
The Plant - Microbe Interfaces Science Focus Area (https://pmiweb.ornl.gov/)
The Secure Ecosystem Engineering and Design Science Focus Area (https://seed-sfa.ornl.gov/)
The Watershed Dynamic and Evolution Science Focus Area
DOE Early Career Award (https://genomicscience.energy.gov/early-career-awards/)

Nancy Sonti

Phytotechnologies in Urban Communities: Case Studies from Baltimore and Detroit

Location: Bost Conference Center Theater

Teams Link: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/aef8d4f1-1ad8-4c8d-a13c-1028d256cfcb@ed51dbb0-af86-45a2-9c97-73fb3935df17

Nancy Sonti is a Research Ecologist with the US Forest Service Northern Research Station. She is based at the Baltimore Field Station, where she works as an interdisciplinary researcher studying urban social-ecological systems. Nancy works to build collaboration between academics, community groups, and government agencies through the Baltimore Urban Waters Federal Partnership, the Chesapeake Bay Program Forestry Workgroup, and other networks from local to national scales. She also currently serves on the International Society of Arboriculture's Nominations and Elections Committee. Her research interests include urban tree physiology across different site types from forested natural areas to street tree pits; processes of forest restoration and regeneration in urban areas; urban forest inventory and analysis (Urban FIA); and motivations for community engagement with urban green spaces. Nancy has a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Stanford University, a Master’s in Conservation Biology from Columbia University, and a PhD in Plant Science from the University of Maryland, College Park.

This meeting will take place in-person and has a virtual option for those who are unable to attend in person. Participants who wish to attend virtually must register to attend by following the Teams link above.