Jana E. Compton

Jana Compton is a research ecologist for the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) office of research and development. Her work focuses on identifying sources of nitrogen pollution and connecting those issues to how they effect our ecosystem services.

Early life and education Jana Compton grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Growing up she had lots of first hand experience with pollution. She could see coal power plants from her backyard and Oak Ridge was one of the places that the Manhattan project took place in the 1940s so radiation pollution was everywhere. Compton received her undergraduate degree from Earlham College. She cites her professor William Stratton, who first taught her about acid rain, as the inspiration pushing her towards environmental science. She obtained both her master's degree and Ph.D. at the University of Washington in forest and forest ecology. After that she did post-doctoral work at Harvard University studying the effects of different types of agricultural land use on the levels of nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus in those areas of land.

Career and research As an ecologist with the Western Ecology Division of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development, Jana Compton investigates the sources and effects of nitrogen pollution. Compton's research focuses on non-point sources of nitrogen pollution, for example, land use and agriculture. These fellows are members who have made outstanding contributions to a wide range of fields served by ESA, including, but not restricted to, those that advance or apply ecological knowledge in academics, government, non-profit organizations, and the broader society. Compton was chosen to be elected for "her innovative and tireless efforts to better understand and develop societal solutions to the problem of nitrogen pollution. Her assessments of the social and environmental costs of excess nitrogen, her outstanding mentorship of students, and her applications of ecology to management and policy make her an inspiration".

Publications Publications by and with Compton include: