We are a diverse group of individuals dedicated to scholarship and the sharing of ideas. We welcome all students with mutual intellectual interests! We are guided by the UC Davis Principles of Community and support enhancing diversity in Ecology. I am a committed mentor and I expect students in my lab to work hard in their pursuit of scientific excellence and relevancy.
Graduate Students
I accept graduate students primarily through the Graduate Group in Ecology but other graduate groups, such as Geography, are possibilities. Whether or not I can accept students depends in large part to available funding and that tends to fluctuate. My students are funded by fellowships, block grants, teaching assistantships and graduate research assistantships associated with my funded research. I also expect students to apply for funding and write research proposals. I work closely with students to pursue these opportunities as they are critical for scientific training and, if successful, they provide the student with greater resources and flexibility. If you are interested in joining the lab as a graduate student, please take a look at the type of research we do as described on the research tab. If that research is of interest to you, send me an email explaining 1) what you are excited to research, 2) how it relates to the work we are doing, 3) your academic and career goals, 4) unofficial transcripts and GRE scores (the percentiles are particularly useful rather than the raw scores). If your interests are a good match and there are strong opportunities for funding, then we can discuss options more fully.
Undergraduates
In general, if you are an undergraduate seeking internship opportunities, please write to me and include 1) your GPA and major, 2) why you would like to work in the lab in general terms, and more specifically what experience you would hope to gain, 3) how much time each week during an academic term you would be able to spend and if you have entire days in which you would be able to leave campus to visit research sites, and 4) a one page synopsis of a paper from the lab that interests you (see publications page).