Meet the Scientists
Dr. Michael Fenster and Dr. C. Barry Knisley: Working to understand the dynamic behavior of the Bay’s beaches and sandy habitats. With nearly a century of combined experience, Mike and Barry have studied the Chesapeake Bay’s coastal systems and ecosystems and provided science-based evidence for management purposes and for finding solutions that preserve its iconic shores.
Dr. Michael Fenster
Coastal Geologist
Dr. Michael Fenster holds a Ph.D. in coastal geology from Boston University and is a well-published coastal geologist with 40 years of experience working with various constituencies and agencies like NASA, NOAA, and USFWS. Fenster’s research specializes in the morphodynamic changes to barrier island-tidal inlet systems, especially those changes caused by storms, sea-level rise, climate change and humans. He has also conducted numerous studies of sediment transport in New England and mid-Atlantic estuaries and provided habitat analyses for various tiger beetle species around the U.S. He joined the full-time Randolph-Macon College (RMC) faculty in 1999, was promoted to the rank of associate professor in 2005 and to the rank of full professor in 2010. From 2012 - 2022, he held the Stephen H. Watts Professor of Science Endowed Chair and served as the director of the Environmental Studies program from 2006 - 2023. He became professor emeritus in 2024.
Contact: mfenster@rmc.edu
Dr. C. Barry Knisley
Biologist and Entomologist
Dr. Barry Knisley holds a Ph.D. in entomology from Rutgers University and is a leading authority on tiger beetle biology, ecology and especially their conservation with nearly 50 years of researching various tiger beetle species throughout the U. S. He has published many books and scientific articles including “A Field Guide to the Tiger Beetles of the United States and Canada: Identification, Natural History, and Distribution of the Cicindelinae” published by Oxford University Press. He joined the full-time faculty at Randolph-Macon College in 1979 as an associate professor i and was promoted to full professor in 1985. He held the endowed chair of Paul H. Wornom, Professor of Biology from 2000 to 2009 and attained professor emeritus in 2009.
Contact: bknisley@rmc.edu
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) – Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant # 0603.22.076061. Additionally, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has supported surveys and studies of the Northeastern Beach Tiger Beetle since the 1990s to present.
We thank Dr. Charles Gowan and Emily Pineda from Randolph-Macon College for their contributions to this project and the staff at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science’s Center for Coastal Resources Management for supplying data from the Virginia Coastal Resources Tool..