Prospective Students

Graduate student opportunities

Graduate students in our group work on a wide variety of projects across a range of different types of aquatic ecosystems. I look for creative and independent students who are interested in doing quantitative research in a collaborative environment where diversity and inclusion are part of the culture. I tend to be a hands-off advisor who favors clear and open communication about mentoring goals and expectations. I don’t assign projects. Instead, I emphasize cross-disciplinary interactions, and work with students to broaden their intellectual scope and help provide them the quantitative and analytical tools necessary to develop their own research projects. When considering potential students, I focus more on the new or interesting research direction someone might bring to our group than on the specifics of their background. The natural sciences, and field-based sciences in particular, suffers from a lack of racial/cultural/gender diversity. I strive to maintain a diverse and dynamic lab and encourage students from under-represented and low-income groups to apply. I mentor students who are interested in a variety of career goals and do not emphasize academic tracks over agency, nonprofit, or other career outcomes.

Before contacting me about graduate school, please look through my publications list and our ongoing research projects to get a sense for our past and current research activities. UC Davis organizes graduate students in graduate groups rather than through the home department of their advisors. I accept students through three graduate groups depending on their area of interest: 1) the Graduate Group in Ecology (GGE); 2) the Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Group (HSGG); and 3) the Soils and Biogeochemistry Graduate Group (SBGG). The different groups have different application requirements, so please look through each group carefully before contacting me. If after reviewing this material you are interested in applying, send me a brief email that identifies your interests and gives me a sketch of your background and experience, your reason for wanting a graduate degree, and your broad career goals. I encourage you to consider submitting an application to the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), and am happy to provide feedback on fellowship applications.

Opportunities for undergraduates

There are a wide range of field and laboratory opportunities available within our research group for motivated and committed undergraduates. Although not a strict requirement, it helps to have had some basic exposure to laboratory or field work. If you’re thinking about joining the lab, a good place to start would be to enroll in the ESP 151 limnology course or the accompanying field and laboratory course, both of which will give you a good foundation in the type of research we do and some hands on experience to decide if it’s something you’re interested in exploring further. Look through our research projects to get a sense for the type of work going on in the group. We sometimes have paid positions, but always offer internship credits. I have advised numerous undergraduates in their individual research projects and senior theses. If you are at all interested in doing a senior thesis, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. It’s an excellent capstone learning experience, and will likely be the thing you most look back upon as a pivotal part of your college experience.

We are currently recruiting for an NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates summer field research assistant position to help with limnological sampling of remote mountain lakes in the Sierra Nevada of California.