Niklas, Karl Joseph
Professor
I am a plant evolutionist who uses physics, engineering, and mathematics to understand the relationship between plant form and function and how this relationship has evolved in consort with the physical environment over the course of Earth`s history.
research
research and scholarship focus
My focus is on plant evolution, particuarly how the shape, size, internal structure and reproductive biology of plants have changed over the course of millions of years of evolution.
research areas
- biophysics | collaborative research area (CALS)
submitted impact statement
- The relationships among plant size and biological functions | 2007 Impact statement
- Large-scale plant biomass partitioning relationships | 2006 Impact statement
- Biomass allocation patterns to leaves, stems and roots across and within species | 2005 Impact statement
- Causes of tomato fruit cracking | 2004 Impact statement
affiliations
faculty appointment in
- Plant Biology (BIOPL) | Cornell department
member of graduate field
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | graduate field
- Plant Biology | graduate field
teaching
teaching focus
I consider myself a teacher and a scientist. I love working with students, and I love doing research.
teaches
- BIOPL 2410 - Introductory Botany (TR 09:05:AM-09:55:AM) | fall 2009 class
- BIOPL 7490 - Graduate Research in Botany (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- BIOPL 4480 - Plant Evolution and the Fossil Record (TR 09:05:AM-09:55:AM) | spring 2009 class
- BIOPL 7490 - Graduate Research in Botany (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- BIOPL 2410 - Introductory Botany (TR 09:05:AM-09:55:AM) | fall 2008 class
service
current professional activities
- Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Botany
background
educational background
- B.S., City College of the City of New York, Mathematics
- Ph.D., University of Illinois, Botany and Chemistry
professional background
- Faculty, Cornell University, 1978-present
featured in
publications
linked articles
- Allometric theory and the mechanical stability of large trees: Proof and conjecture | journal article
- A phyletic perspective on the allometry of plant biomass-partitioning patterns and functionally equivalent organ-categories | journal article
- Crack resistance in cherry tomato fruit correlates with correlates with cuticular membrane thickness | journal article
- Growth and hydraulic (not mechanical) constraints govern the scaling of tree height and mass | journal article
- Morphogenesis and biomechanics: The roles of mechanical perturbation and other environmental stresses in plant development and evolution | journal article
- Plant allometry: is there a grand unifying theory? | journal article
Keywords: allometry, anatomy & biomechanics, and allometry, biomechanics, morphology, plant evolution