Prospective postdocs

I would be happy to develop a proposal in collaboration with researchers interested in working with me after having obtained their PhD. Possible sources of postdoc funding include the David Smith fellowship in conservation biology (for field work in the US, but open to all citizens, deadline end of September), and the WWF Kathryn Fuller fellowship (deadline mid November).

I anticipate that I will be taking on one or two graduate students in Fall 2008. In general, I tend to look for bright, resourceful students with i) prior field experience, ii) prior independent research experience, iii) good grades and iv) good writing skills.

Reasons for applying to my lab and SUNY-ESF

Students in my lab can seize the following three opportunties: i) be part of a young, dynamic lab that is working to investigate novel, iconoclastic ways of conducting conservation biology; ii) be part of a larger academic community that is focused on population biology and conservation of amphibians and reptiles (including Prof. James Gibbs, Prof. Jesse Brunner and their students here at SUNY-ESF). iii) Relative to other schools, SUNY-ESF has unusually large land holdings nearby on which to conduct research.

My approach to graduate training

I mentor graduate students with the lofty goal of changing the world for the better. By training first-rate, innovative scientists and communicators, I hope to have a larger and more significant influence on the quality of the world than I ever could by myself. Graduate students also teach me about new ideas and new approaches to the practice of science and conservation. They help create one of the most intellectually stimulating environments that I believe exists anywhere. In so doing, they enhance scholarship and progress throughout the lab, department, and university.

So I take graduate student mentoring very seriously. I expect to invest significant time, effort and funding into each of my students and to continue to support your career for many years thereafter. I am therefore very selective about the students I accept. I try to identify students with a deep desire to make the world a better place and with the intellectual, communication and social skills needed to realize their professional goals. It’s equally important that prospective students thoughtfully size me up as a good fit to their needs and personalities. I strongly encourage an in-person visit to my lab, the department, and the SUNY-ESF campus so that we can find out as much as possible about each other.

If you join my lab, you can expect several things from me. I strive to create a stimulating, supportive and inspiring environment within which my students can shine. I will provide time, space, connections, professional and work related advice and, when asked, life advice. Specifically, I strive to set aside ample time to meet regularly with my students, visit your field sites, hold productive lab meetings, and support your intellectual and professional development at each stage of your graduate work. I strive to provide and work on your behalf for funding and for laboratory, computing, and work space; and to apply my extended connections in the ecology, conservation, and land management worlds to your benefit. I also work for a sense of the community in the lab and the department and try to model professional honesty and integrity, respect for the places, people and other organisms I work with. Finally, I strive to encourage enough balance in life to make all of this sustainable.

In turn, I expect you to own your education and thesis work and run hard with what I and other mentors and colleagues provide. I expect my students’ thesis work to be worthy of the huge investment of time and energy that they put into it. I will expect you to do your best to obtain your own research and stipend funding (see below). I also ask my graduate students to invest in and support the lab mission and all its members, provide constructive feedback on how to improve the lab, and work to create an honest, supportive environment.

Who will pay for what?

Expenditures associated with a graduate degree include tuition, stipend, and research expenditures. Tuition and stipend can be covered in one of three ways: i) you can win a federal grant (e.g., NSF-predoc, EPA-STAR); ii) the department can cover your stipend through a TAship, in exchange for teaching a class; iii) I can cover your stipend through a grant, in exchange for doing research on a funded project. Similarly, your research expenditures can be covered through i) or iii). I strongly encourage both prospective and current graduate students to spend a significant proportion of their time applying for their own grants for three reasons: i) it will help hone your writing skills, which will serve you well no matter what you do later in life; ii) it forces you to be explicit about your research ideas, which will clarify your thinking and strengthen your science; iii) if you are fortunate to get your own grant it will not only be a feather in your cap (resume) but will also grant you the freedom to pursue your own independent line of research. Potential sources of funding for graduate students in ecology, herpetology and conservation can be found here.

I encourage prospective students with excellent qualifications to apply to my lab if I can advise you well in the areas you want to pursue. It makes sense to work with me if you are interested in one or more of: invasive species ecology, ecological, evolutionary and behavioral responses to environmental change, or assessing the impact of commercial trade on wild populations. If you decide to apply to my lab group, be as specific as possible about what you want to work on, with the understanding that it can evolve during your first 1-2 years of graduate school.

Before formally applying to the department I encourage prospective students to read a few of my papers to make sure that we share intellectual interests. You can also find here a list of papers by other authors that embody my broader interests. I then suggest that you contact me via email, including your CV, GRE scores (if available), GPA, a brief statement as to why you would like to join my lab. You should also try and arrange an in-person visit, if possible.