Dr. Mitkowski’s Biography

Dr. Nathaniel Mitkowski is a Professor of Plant Pathology and Chair in the Department of Plant Sciences and Entomology at the University of Rhode Island. He teaches upper level classes in turf and ornamental pathology, turfgrass management, plant improvement and power units. His research is split between diseases of turfgrasses and nematode pathogens of turf and vegetables and he has spent the past two decades researching dollar spot, red thread, anthracnose, brown patch, fungicide resistance, bacterial wilt, nematodes and general turf management.  He is also the director of the URI Turfgrass Disease Diagnostic Lab, which annually receives samples from across the United States. He received his B.S. in Plant Pathology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1997 and his Ph.D in Plant Pathology from Cornell University in 2001.  Every fall and winter he travels the country speaking to golf course superintendents about disease and management issues.