Sarah C. Davis, Ph.D.

Dr. Sarah Davis is an ecosystem ecologist with expertise in energy bioscience, biogeochemistry, and eco-physiology. She researches ecosystem-level energy conversion efficiency, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas fluxes in managed landscapes using experimental and modeling approaches.

Her work on bioenergy includes assessments of Crassulacean Acid Metabolism in agricultural plants for semi-arid regions (including Agave species), advanced bioenergy grasses (including Miscanthus x giganteus or giant miscanthus, Panicum virgatum or switchgrass, and Sorghum bicolor or sorghum), and integrated systems designs that include anaerobic digestion for biogas production from wastes. She also researches carbon cycling in managed forests and feedbacks between terrestrial ecosystem dynamics and climate change.

Recent work is multi-disciplinary in nature and assesses the potential for innovative agricultural systems that promote economic resilience and environmental sustainability in rural areas. Davis received her Ph.D. in Biology from West Virginia University in 2007, worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate from 2007-2009, then as a Bioenergy Analyst and Adjunct Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign until 2012. Davis is currently an Associate Professor in the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service at Ohio University.