Dr. Colleen Iversen is an ecosystem ecologist who uses a variety of field and laboratory techniques to understand and predict how ecosystems – from upland forests to flooded peatlands to thawing Arctic tundra – are shaped by environmental change. Colleen is a Distinguished Staff Scientist in the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Group Leader of the Plant-Soil Interactions group, and Director of the NGEE Arctic project. She is an Editor at the international plant journal New Phytologist, and she was an elected Early Career Fellow of the Ecological Society of America and a member of the inaugural cohort of ‘New Voices’ at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Colleen sees science communication as the foundation for a shared understanding of society’s future, and she has shared her scientific vision on Public Radio International’s ‘Science Friday’, and in the Alda School’s ‘Flame Challenge’, as well as in organized symposia, sessions, and workshops.
NEWS. |
Colleen joined the Advisory Board for the NASEM's Division on Earth and Life Sciences for a 3-year term that began on
1 January 2025. She's excited to hear about all of the excellent science that the NASEM DELS brings together! Colleen was named a 'Highly Cited Researcher' again for 2024! Colleen was named Director of the NGEE Arctic project. She's grateful for years of mentoring from founding Director, Stan Wullschleger and others, and excited to be able to work with an amazing team of scientists across the country! Do you love roots? Do you love free data? You're in luck! FRED 3.0 is now available for download. Come see what's new. Colleen was named ORNL's top Science Communicator of 2019. She had a little #SciComm surprise for the audience. Colleen was highlighted in the 'Spotlights' series of the awesome Earth Science Women's Network! |
ART.VIDEO. |
Colleen won the 'Mixed Media Art' prize at the 2023 AMSE Steam Art Contest for her piece 'Life Finds a Way'!
See Colleen's vision of the natural world...in paint and embroidery thread! What is climate? Check out our submission to the 2018 Flame Challenge. Watch out for zombies!
What is leadership? The women at Oak Ridge National Laboratory provide an answer on International Women's Day! |
AUDIO. |
Listen to a podcast episode about FRED — Your Friendly Root Resource from ORNL's Sound of Science podcast
Listen to a podcast episode about building a warmer future at the SPRUCE experiment from ORNL's Sound of Science podcast Listen to a podcast episode about The Arctic's 'Unseen World of Climate Change' from ORNL's Sound of Science podcast Listen to Colleen talk about her career path on the Clear Skies Ahead podcast from The American Meteorological Society Listen to Colleen talk about the surprising life inside frozen soil on PRI's Science Friday. Listen to Colleen talk about how ecosystems respond to climate change on the The Secret City Radio Show. |
PRINT. |
'First-Person Science' ... Read more about how I would always choose to take a modeler to lunch if I could...
'How it all began' ... Why geology makes me nervous, how I deal with impostor syndrome, and why I love what I do... 'I am a scientist' ... I am curious. I walk through a forest, dissatisfied with the dappled light dancing over green leaves... 'New voices, at last' ... We encourage the first members of New Voices to be bold... 'Taller plants moving into warmer Arctic' ... long observation series are invaluable... 'In the dead of winter' ... all the action in the tundra is below ground... |
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
- J. R. R. Tolkien