Rate My Professor Jonathan Cumming

At UMES, within the School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, Cumming leads the department recognized as a keystone STEM unit and directs the Root Systems Biology Lab. His research investigates bioenergy feedstocks viability under climate challenges, including eastern cottonwood trees, nine genotypes of genetically modified poplar hybrids engineered for increased soil carbon deposition and drought resistance, switchgrass, and Maryland cover crops. A U.S. Department of Energy-funded project with the Center for Bioenergy Innovation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory evaluates over 200 transgenic trees planted three years ago at UMES’s Research, Extension and Teaching Farm, tracking growth, carbon storage patterns above and below ground amid varying temperature, rainfall, and salinity. In a USDA-NRCS Climate Smart grant collaboration with the University of Maryland and Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, his team enhances biogas production via anaerobic digestion of chicken litter using switchgrass and cover crops, boosting efficiency and nutrient stability. Additional studies address saltwater intrusion threats to Chesapeake Bay coastal ecosystems, including fieldwork in the Monie Bay ghost forest, and drought effects on switchgrass. These efforts secure substantial federal funding, advancing sustainable agriculture, carbon sequestration, and biofuel development on the Delmarva Peninsula.