Jean Marie Hartman received her Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Connecticut, after first earning her M.S. in Landscape Architecture and B.S. in Botany from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. This complimentary blend of experience enables her to bring a unique expertise to her position as Associate Professor in the Landscape Architecture Department of Rutgers University, a position she has held for more than 15 years. Since 2005, she has served as Acting and Interim Department Chair and just this year, she has been officially appointed as Department Chair.

In her words, "Ecological thinking must inform landscape architectural practice. While an understanding of ecology is now widely considered to be fundamental to "good" design, the relationships between these two fields form a relatively new scholarly arena. This is, in part, because few scholars are equipped to undertake new scientific studies and to frame them within questions that implicate new modes of design practice."

Dr. Hartman's role in research, teaching, and outreach within the discipline of landscape architecture bridges the gap between ecology and design. Her work generates new scientific understandings of complex ecological systems and indicates the ways in which design, planning and policy can help to protect and restore them.

This website features some of the more recent projects undertaken by Dr. Hartman and her dedicated lab of graduate and undergraduate students, and hopes to provide a public view into the inner workings of ecology and design in progress.