Jane Bock's research interests include the ecology and evolution of flowering plants in the Colorado Alpine and High Plains and similar areas elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere and the reproductive patterns of flowering plants. Her students work on the ecology and evolution of seed plants. The conservation and restoration of the western North American indigenous flora is a special concern.
Dr. Bock is Professor emerita at the Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology, at the University of Colorado, Boulder,where she was honored with the Hazel Barnes Prize, established in honor of philosophy Professor Emerita Hazel Barnes to recognize "the enriching interrelationship between teaching and research." She is married to her long time collaborator, Carl E. Bock. They have one daughter.
For 30 years, Jane and Carl conducted research on The Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch in southeastern Arizona. From 1980 - 1991 Jane and Carl were directors of The Research Ranch. Besides the numerous research papers (See also these papers.) produced over this period, Jane and Carl wrote a Book, The View from Bald Hill, about their experiences over this time span.
Prof. Bock has a serious side interest in forensic botany. Since 1982 she has worked with Dr. D. O. Norris on developing the use of plant cells in the gastrointestinal tract to aid in homicide investigations. Both Dr. Bock and Dr. Norris have consulted on other botanical evidence for criminal investigations. They have been certified as expert witnesses in this area for the State of Colorado. They are members of Necrosearch International, a nonprofit association of Colorado law enforcement personnel and scientists organized to provide expertise in the location and excavation of clandestine graves in Colorado and throughout the world and to conduct scientific research on grave sites. They also are members of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the International Association for Identification.
Prof. Bock is actively sought after as a speaker and board member for many organizations. Recently she was an invited speaker at the Exploring a Cartography of Governance: the Province of Environmental NGOs conference at the University of Colorado Law School, and at the International Conference on Biodiversity and Society. Todd Mundt of Michigan Radio interviewed Prof. Bock on the uses of forensic botany. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Center of the American West, on the Academic Awards Committee of the Colorado Mountain Club Foundation and is a past Chair of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Ecological Society of America. She is on the Grassland/Shrubland Work Group for the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, a is Vice President of the Research Ranch Foundation, and a Scientific Advisor for the health and consumer protection group Quackwatch. She and her husband, Carl, have served on the Board of The Nature Conservancy of Colorado.
Books by Jane H. Bock
- Sonoita Plain: Views from a Southwestern Grassland
- with Carl Bock, Stephen Strom, photographer, 2005, Univ. Arizona Press.
- The View from Bald Hill with Carl Bock, 2000, Univ. California Press.
- Book review by Dave Hallock
Review by Ali Macalady in High Country News - The Evolutionary Ecology of Plants, Bock, J.H. and Y.B. Linhart, (Editors)
- 1989, Westview Press
- Identifying plant food cells in gastric contents for use in forensic investigations: a laboratory manual.,
- Bock, J.H., M.,A. Lane, and D.O. Norris, 1988, US Dept. of Justice, NIJ, Washington, DC.
All books by Jane Bock can be purchased from: Singing Wind Bookstore, P.O. Box 2197, Benson, AZ 85602. Phone 520-586-2425.
Books containing Papers by Jane H. Bock
- Invasive Exotic Species in the Sonoran Region,
- Barbara Tellman (Editor), 2002, Univ. of Arizona Press.
- Ecology and Conservation of Grassland Birds in the Western Hemisphere,
- Peter D. Vickery and James R. Herkert (Editors), Studies in Avian Biology 19, Cooper Ornithological Society.
- The challenges of grassland conservation.,
- in An Advocate's Guide to North American Prairies, A. Joern and K.H. Keeler (Editors), Oxford University Press.
- Songbird abundance in grasslands at a suburban interface on the Colorado High Plains,
- in Ecology and conservation of grassland birds of the western hemisphere, P. D. Vickery and J. R. Herkert (Editors), Studies in Avian Biology No. 19.
- Identifying plant food cells in gastric contents for use in forensic investigations: a laboratory manual.
- Bock, J.H., M.A. Lane, and D.O. Norris, 1988, US Dept. of Justice, NIJ, Washington, DC.
Books/Magazines with profiles of or interviews with Jane H. Bock
- Nijhaus, M. 2007. Of murder and microscopes: How botanist Jane Bock became a crime fighter.
- Sierra:the Magazine of the Sierra Club. May/June 2007.
- What Do You Know: Wisdom for the Road Ahead, Jeanette Spires (Editor),
- 2004, Riverwood Books.