Prospective members

Thank you for visiting our lab webpage! If you're interested in working together or have any questions, please send me an email detailing your interests and relevant experiences. Inquiries regarding research opportunities should emphasize an interest to work on forest insect ecology and/or the ecology of insects attacking woody ornamentals.

 

Undergraduate students

Students interested in pursuing undergraduate theses or gaining research experience are encouraged to reach out. Students from a diversity of majors, career goals, and backgrounds are welcome!

 

Graduate students

Thank you for your interest in joining the lab! Picking an adviser is one of the most important decisions you will make in selecting a graduate program. Perhaps the only more important decision will be deciding which field of research to enter. To that end, please (i) visit the research and publication tabs to assess whether your interests align with the lab's and (ii) think about the type of life and career you want after graduate school. Then, “reverse engineer” that vision and ask yourself: does the lab seem like an ideal (or at least sufficient 😊!) fit? If yes, keep reading.

I am excited to support students pursuing a diversity of vocations (from academic and government jobs to teaching high school biology or starting a landscaping company), and will do my best to tailor your education and experiences to help you achieve those goals. Students are recruited to the lab based on the availability of grant-funded research projects (i.e., all graduate students receive a stipend, health care, tuition waiver, and research support). This means that students are typically "assigned" a research project, but each is given the freedom to pursue their own interests within the broader scope of grant objectives. Otherwise, I am always happy to explore other options with students that are highly motivated to join the lab (e.g., collaboratively develop a fellowship application). Below, you will find some "guidelines" for lab culture and my approach as a mentor.

 

I expect students to:

 

What you can expect from me:

 

Postdoctoral researchers

The above philosophies on graduate education apply to postdoctoral researchers and their training. A key difference is that postdoctoral researchers are expected to achieve a higher level of independence. I also expect that postdocs to help with mentoring students and drafting research proposals (and of course receiving credit for such efforts!), as many research-focused positions rely on doing these things effectively.