Ben R Lee, PhD

@benrlee.com

3751 Followers 1377 Following

Assistant Prof of Forest Ecology in southern Appalachia. Interested in climate change effects on forest plants, especially phenology, ecophys, and species interactions. He/him Views my own 🧪🌎🌱📜🌐 More at https://peacchlab.com

Two people smile in front of a poster at the Botany 2026 conference in Tuscon
A view of a a broad landscape covered in grass and intermittent trees speckled throughout. Mountains can be seen far off in the distance under a golden blue sky
Title reads "PEACCH Lab Presentations at Botany 2026". Below are pictures of two people with information about the timing and titles of their talks.
A sagauro cactus in front of a beige building with many windows
A desert scrub landscape with a resort pool on the right and saguaro cacti sprinkled throughout the landscape
A group of 12 people stand together (one in the foreground taking the selfie) on top of a Bald in the southern Appalachian mountains. Fog can be seen rising from the layers of Blue Ridge Mountains in the background.
ETSU is recruiting a masters student to begin in fall 2026 (start date Aug 17, 2026) under the co-supervision of Drs. Arpita Nandi (Dept of Geosciences) and Ben Lee (Dept of Biological Sciences). This is a two-year position and the student will be enrolled through and receive a degree from the Department of Geosciences. The student’s tuition will be covered in full and they will receive an annual stipend of $10k. Teaching will be required only for the first semester before the student transitions to a grant-funded fellowship. This position is mandatory in-person and located in Johnson City, Tennessee. The selected applicant will work on a newly-funded project investigating the impact of Hurricane Helene on southern Appalachian ecosystems in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. They will be tasked with developing disturbance indices that account for both type (e.g., blowdown vs. flooding vs. landslides) and severity of disturbance and in coordinating an analysis comparing these remote-sensed indices to field-measured disturbance metrics. This project will inform site selection for consequent biodiversity and ecophysiological studies which the student will have the opportunity to participate in as well. Successful applicants must have obtained a bachelors degree in environmental or biological sciences, geosciences, or a related field by August 2026, with at least a 3.0 GPA. The selected student will be required to relocate to Johnson City, TN by Aug 17, 2026 if not already present. For this reason, the student must already either be a US citizen or otherwise have permission to work in the US. To apply, please email Dr. Ben Lee at LEEBR1@etsu.edu with a copy of your current CV and a short cover letter explaining your interest in the project, background in GIS and ecology, and a copy of your transcripts (unofficial is fine). Applications will be reviewed immediately as they arrive until the position is filled.
ETSU is recruiting a masters student to begin in fall 2026 (start date Aug 17, 2026) under the co-supervision of Drs. Arpita Nandi (Dept of Geosciences) and Ben Lee (Dept of Biological Sciences). This is a two-year position and the student will be enrolled through and receive a degree from the Department of Geosciences. The student’s tuition will be covered in full and they will receive an annual stipend of $10k. Teaching will be required only for the first semester before the student transitions to a grant-funded fellowship. This position is mandatory in-person and located in Johnson City, Tennessee. The selected applicant will work on a newly-funded project investigating the impact of Hurricane Helene on southern Appalachian ecosystems in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. They will be tasked with developing disturbance indices that account for both type (e.g., blowdown vs. flooding vs. landslides) and severity of disturbance and in coordinating an analysis comparing these remote-sensed indices to field-measured disturbance metrics. This project will inform site selection for consequent biodiversity and ecophysiological studies which the student will have the opportunity to participate in as well. Successful applicants must have obtained a bachelors degree in environmental or biological sciences, geosciences, or a related field by August 2026, with at least a 3.0 GPA. The selected student will be required to relocate to Johnson City, TN by Aug 17, 2026 if not already present. For this reason, the student must already either be a US citizen or otherwise have permission to work in the US. To apply, please email Dr. Ben Lee at LEEBR1@etsu.edu with a copy of your current CV and a short cover letter explaining your interest in the project, background in GIS and ecology, and a copy of your transcripts (unofficial is fine). Applications will be reviewed immediately as they arrive until the position is filled.
A large pale green moth with four circular eye spots and a pair of long tails. A large portion of its top left wing is missing
Large white rhododendron flowers lit by the sun are in focus in the foreground. A blurry waterfall can be seen in the background
"On behalf of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, I am pleased to inform you that the EPA Region 4 Water Division has selected the East Tennessee State University application under the 2025/2026 Region 4 Wetland Program Development Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity EPA-REG04-25-01. The selected project, "Assessing wetland damage, health, and the potential for plant invasion in the wake of Hurricane Helene", will be awarded for $598,201.00 in federal funding and has a $395,321.00 match."
A woman in a salmon-colored pullover kneels down next to a black and white dog in a green harness. A blurry waterfall can be seen in the background
A picture of a golden plaque with a black and white picture of a man and Korean text that describes his lifetime of accomplishments
Red-orange floral buds about to burst being held up by a man's hand. Rhododendron calendulaceum - flame azalea
A light colored flower with a white and yellow center. Iris crestata- dwarf crested iris
A large white flower hangs below an umbrella of green leaves. Trillium rugelii - southern nodding wakerobin
ETSU MSc student Liz Howe gives a demonstration of her research for the Wild Ones members on our afternoon wildflower tour
A juvenile great horned owl sits perched on the tip of a log. Down feathers show through its new adult feathers giving it an almost fluffy look
A population of about 50 yellow trillium are shown in full flower on the forest floor with morning sunlight breaking through the canopy in the background. Each flower has three mottled green leaves and a bright plume of yellow flowers rising from the center of the leaves
A man's fingers lies behind the end of the tip of a branch. New green leaf buds are opening along the sides of the branch while the terminal leaves are black and shriveled from frost damaged. A label in the bottom corner indicates this species as Lindera benzoin
Bright green leaves hang down from a central stem above the brown forest floor. Text on the picture labels this species as Podophyllum peltatum
A closeup of a cluster of pink-white, four-petaled flowers hanging above thin green leaves. Text in the corner of the photo labels this species as Cardamine concatenata
Emerging leaves at the tip of a branch are held between thumb and forefinger. The leaves are still pressed together in a cone shape and are dark green to black in color
A close up of small, shiny black, disc-shaped seeds laid over graph paper with 1" x 1" squares
A pair of white Hanes-branded underwear lays decomposing among leaves on the forest floor. New daffodil shoots emerge from the leaf litter in the background
Bright yellow-green flowers of northern spicebush are visible at the end of a brown branch being held up by a man's fingers
A person's hand holds up the tip of a spicebush branch to show swelling, globular floral buds
A sliver of sun is visible peaking out over the dark blue of the Olympic Mountains. Calm water in the foreground reflects the sunset and the orange and blue sky
Rhododendrons in a forest understory in winter, interspersed with small trees and branches. The rhododendron evergreen leaves are still present, but drooping because of the cold.
A man in a blue shirt and khaki pants stands in front of a blue and yellow poster titled "Effects of phenological mismatch on reproductive success in northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin)"
Several people work on carving faces and artwork into the sides of pumpkins in a dark room
Water cascades down a shallow creek over large slate rocks. Yellow and orange leaves mix with some still green in front of a pale blue sky
An ad for a PhD position to start fall 2026 working with me at ETSU. For more info, please email at LeeBR1@etsu.edu.
A close up picture of a bright red cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) with a green and brown blurry forest floor in the background
A woman kneels down in the middle of a forest among a large population of invasive stilt grass. A large log and dappled sunlight lies on the the forest floor
Spruce trees emerge from the clouds and fog
Bright pink flowers hang suspended in front of a thick cloud bank in the background
A light brown and white mushroom bursts up from a dark brown, moss-covered forest floor
Bright orange and yellow, umbrella-shaped fungus (chicken of the woods) grows out the side of a black cherry tree.
A blue hydrangea, clipped about 8 inches below the flowers, lies on top of some newspaper before it is pressed flat for preservation in a plant press
A man in a black tuxedo kisses a woman in a white wedding dress on a lawn under trees. Groomsmen and an officiant clap in the background
Dune grass and other plants grow along the sides of a candy trail that leads out past the dunes to Lake Michigan. The sky above is bright blue with wispy clouds
Mount Rainier, as seen from a plane, rises in the midst of the cascade mountain range. Rainier is white and snow capped but surrounded by shades of blue on land and in the bluebird blue sky
A morning view of the Spokane River with willows and other trees lining a broad river. Large stones compose the banks and the sun is shining in a bright blue sky
A man in a blue shirt stands in front of about a dozen other people. His hands are on a metal tube sticking horizontally out of a tree.
Three people stand close together, taking a selfie in front of an otherwise empty beer garden
A group of six people stand with arms around each other's shoulders and smiling. Behind them are layers of blue mountains fading into Robin's egg blue sky.
Three people stand at the base of a massive oak tree in the middle of a forest. The oak is wider than all three of them combined.
A black and white dog looks up toward his food dish which contains a cheeseburger and sweet potato fries
A timber rattlesnake lays coiled under some green blueberry bushes, camoflaging in with the brown leaf litter below it on the forest floor.
Text that reads: Hey Ben! I just wanted to reach out to you about our Field Eco class. This has been by FAR one of my most favorite classes I have ever taken, I could just about take it again. I appreciate you providing us with hands on experience and efficiently lecturing us, I feel like I have been able to take home a ton of new information. I don’t think there was ever a field day that was not enjoyable! Most professors cannot provide education like that, and again thank you! You’re genuinely an amazing professor, I’d love to have you again for another class!
A picture of a poster that reads: "2025 integrated bioscience seminar Climate change effects on biotic interactions in temperate forests With Dr. Ben Lee Assistant Professor, East Tennessee State University 2:45-3:45 Friday, May 2 UA [University of Akron] Field Station"
Two red flowers are positioned on top of broad green leaves and in front of a blue sky partially obscured by trees
A woman stands in front of a screen on which is projected a graph labeled "Species responses to drought in 2015 and Hurricane Maria". She points to the screen using a long stick.
Two people stand in front of a panoramic vista of the blue ridge mountains, which have misty clouds wound between them
A green, toaster shaped object with a chamber attachment sits on the forest floor. A person is kneeling next to the machine with a field notebook and hiking backpack visible scattered around
The first dark green leaves of a mayapple plant begin to unfold over a leafy forest floor
Three broad leaves of a Trillium spread out to intercept early spring light. Other herbaceous understood plants can be seen in the background
Three speckled light and dark green leaves poke out from the forest floor which is still covered in leaf litter from the previous fall
Four people taking a selfie with some rhododendron leaves in the near background and still leafless trees in the further back.