Notes to Prospective Graduate Students

My research group is currently full, due to students will be joining the group in Fall 2008. Barring unforeseen events, there will not be any openings for new students until Fall 2010 at the soonest (and maybe not even then).

I welcome students who share my interest in the interface between theory, modeling, and empirical ecology. My goals as an advisor are to encourage high standards, independence and a supportive attitude towards professional peers. From my thesis advisor, Simon Levin, I learned by example that treating science as a team sport (with only one team) is more fun and ultimately more productive than treating science as a competitive sport and "playing to win". I aim to pass that attitude on to my students, by being both supportive and demanding in terms of course preparation, level of effort and quality of work.

I ask students to define their own research problems. Students supported by research grants typically put about half their effort into grant-related research to "pay the rent", but also develop another project of sufficient substance to be a thesis chapter and standalone research publication. Postdoc positions often come with a specific job description. So if I hand you a thesis topic, you could wind up as an assistant professor with no experience at self-directed research. That's not a good idea. By the end of your 4^th semester you should have a good idea of your research topics and be ready to start writing a thesis proposal. By the end of your 5^th semester your proposal should be completed and approved by your advisory committee and you should have taken and passed your "A" (admission to candidacy exam).

To give you a flavor, here are some research topics from current and past students' theses:

· Effects of density-dependent costs of defense on predator-prey coevolution and population dynamics

· Maintenance of communication systems with incomplete honesty

· Conditions for species persistence in spatial (reaction-diffusion) food web models

· Evolution of energy allocation strategies in fluctuating environments, and its effects on population stability

· Testing mechanistic models for population fluctuations in experimental rotifer populations

· Accuracy of stochastic matrix models for population viability analysis

· Integral projection models for populations with continuous size structure

· Comparing strategies for controlling insect agricultural pests using genetic engineering

· The effectiveness of conservation corridors in the presence of infectious diseases

and this is where some of my past students are now:

· Virginia Pasour, Department of Mathematics, UCLA: postdoc

· Jonathan Rowell, Program in Ecology, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill: postdoc

· Paul Schliekelman, Department of Statistics, University of Georgia: Associate Professor. 

· John Fieberg, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: Biometrician.

· Kyle Shertzer, NOAA Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, Beaufort NC: Fisheries Biometrician

· Michael Easterling, Constella Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park NC: Biomathematician  

· Barbara Bailey, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, San Diego State University: Assistant Professor.

· George Hess, Department of Forestry, North Carolina State University: Associate Professor

· Steven Peck, Department of Integrative Biology, Brigham Young University: Assistant Professor.

· Georgiy Bobashev, Research Triangle Institute, Durham, North Carolina: Senior Research Statistician.

There is a distressing tendency for faculty to view nonacademic careers as a fallback for weaker students. I find this incomprehensible. The real work of environmental management, planning, and conservation are largely done by non-academics. We need smart well-trained people on the frontlines. If that's where you want to be, I'll do my best to help you get there. I have fully supported some of my best students as they turned down academic job offers to pursue other career paths.

I am in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, but I can advise grad students in three fields: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Applied Mathematics, and Computational Biology. Choosing between these is mainly a function of practical issues (admissions, funding, where you want to work after you graduate), and doesn't affect what you could expect from me as your advisor. EEB has the advantage of having very few course requirements, but the Applied Math requirements are flexible and should not be a burden if you want to be a well-prepared theoretical ecologist. You can only apply to one field, so before you apply please contact me so we can discuss which Field would be best for you. All 3 fields have admissions committees that call the shots: even if you and I both want you to join my research group, the committees may decide to admit other applicants. I have learned from experience not to accept anyone as a student without first meeting them in person. For EEB there is a "recruiting weekend" each winter to which prospective admittees are invited; Applied Math students are admitted to the program rather than into a specific research group, and students have a year or so before they have to link up with a thesis advisor.

Anyone planning to be a theoretical ecologist needs a solid grounding in quantitative methods, including mathematics and statistics. For that reason, students working with me will typically face course requirements above and beyond those required by their graduate Field - especially students in EEB, where the tradition is to take very few courses and start immediately on research. This is for your own good and I will be happy to explain why. Without the right foundation, the enormous (and often very useful) literature in theoretical mathematics and statistics will forever be a closed book to you. My advisees should expect to spend about two years on full-time coursework, followed by your "A" (admission to candidacy) exam.