Research opportunities
We are interested in a broad spectrum of questions, both "basic" and "applied." These are neither restricted by type of ecosystem nor by taxon, although we like to work primarily in terrestrial settings. If you notice something in the research and publications pages that interests you, please send me an e-mail explaining why you are interested.
Undergraduate students:
I strongly encourage undergraduate students, particularly those interested in botany, zoology, physiology, ecology, natural resources, biodiversity, and/or conservation, to contact me via e-mail. In your message, please tell me briefly about your interests and background. Undergraduate research, either with me, or with my collaborators, can take several forms, and can be accomplished through summer internships between May and August each year. These may include monitoring of ongoing field experiments, new field experiments, laboratory or greenhouse experiments, database management and analysis.
Graduate students:
Graduate students are recruited once a year, and the admissions process is described here.
If you think there is reasonable overlap between your interests and mine, please contact me via e-mail. Regardless of the degree of overlap, I would expect you to develop your thoughts with little interference (!) from me. I expect graduate students to work relatively independently. But this does not mean working in isolation! I also expect students to think quantitatively, and be able to write down their thoughts. But this does not mean statistical wizardry! Above all, students should be good lab-citizens, contribute to the professional environment of the lab, and towards our collective intellectual growth. This requires a strong work ethic, self-motivation, and willingness to wrestle with difficult problems.
I understand my mentoring philosophy can appear enigmatic and confusing. Here are some general pointers: Please read Stephen Stearn's "modest advice," and John Thompson's "On being ..." Please also check the "Grad Resources" compiled by Spencer Hall.
If you think there is reasonable overlap between your interests and mine, please contact me via e-mail. Regardless of the degree of overlap, I would expect you to develop your thoughts with little interference (!) from me. I expect graduate students to work relatively independently. But this does not mean working in isolation! I also expect students to think quantitatively, and be able to write down their thoughts. But this does not mean statistical wizardry! Above all, students should be good lab-citizens, contribute to the professional environment of the lab, and towards our collective intellectual growth. This requires a strong work ethic, self-motivation, and willingness to wrestle with difficult problems.
I understand my mentoring philosophy can appear enigmatic and confusing. Here are some general pointers: Please read Stephen Stearn's "modest advice," and John Thompson's "On being ..." Please also check the "Grad Resources" compiled by Spencer Hall.