A Note To Prospective Students

Graduate Students:

I am interested in advising graduate students with interests in all areas of plant-animal interactions and plant population ecology. Students I advise are encouraged to branch out on their own - you don't have to work in the tropics to join the lab, and you are not required to work on one of “my” projects or with one of "my" systems (though you may do so if they wish). However those interested in working with our group should:

Be interested in using experiments, modeling, or other quantitative methods to test novel hypotheses in plant population ecology or plant-animal interactions.
Be interested in the application of their results to the conservation of biological resources. Your thesis need not be entirely applied, but I hope at least part of it will be.
Be eager to work in a stimulating and collegial academic environment. I expect my graduate students to participate in activities such as the departmental seminar series, lab meetings, and reading groups. I also encourage them to develop collaborations and side projects with other faculty and students with whom they share mutual research interests.
Actively pursue fellowships and financial support for their work. This is not only good practice for the future, but earning grants and fellowships while in graduate school makes you a much stronger candidate for jobs after you’ve graduated.
Get along well with others and have a positive outlook. Grad school can be hard, and sometimes frustrating, but it should also be fun!

In you think you might be a good match for my lab and our department, send me an e-mail with the following information:

A description of your research interests (the questions you are interested in addressing, possible systems, etc.). This will help us determine if I am really the best advisor for you.
Your prior research experience and any other information you think is relevant.
A summary of your academic history (including your GPA, GRE scores and percentiles, and TOEFL score, if appropriate).

You may wish to check out an essay by Walt Carson that provides excellent advice for students interested in going to grad school (get a pdf version here: Carson 1999). I also suggest reading the essays by Ray Huey and Stephen Stearns entitled "Some modest advice for graduate students" (get the pdf version here: Stearns and Huey 1987).

Undergraduate Students:

Interested undergraduates are welcome to join the lab, and there are ample opportunities to help with projects or conduct independent research towards a CALS Honors Thesis, or a McNair Scholars Project. Come by 316 Newins-Ziegler Hall or send me an e-mail for more information.