Resources and Financial Support
Resources
Because of the departmental merger, we
now have world-class research facilities to access and help train the nearly
250 graduate students and countless other undergraduates in SoLS. Beyond the spectrophotometric,
biochemical, and immunological facilities we have in my lab and the aviaries we
use to conduct our captive bird studies, there are several core SoLS laboratories
of which my lab takes particular advantage. The shared-user Keck
bioimaging lab houses a range of laser and fluorescence microscopes for
visual imaging of colorful feathers.
Both transmission and electron microscopy is available in the electron microscope facility for
nanoscale analyses of the microstructure of colorful tissues. The electron paramagnetic resonance lab
allows us to analyze the antioxidant activity of animal pigments when they are
removed from their complex biological matrices and systems. In the Goldwater
Environmental Laboratory, we use mass spectrometry to characterize the
molecular properties of colorful pigments and ICP-AES to analyze levels of
trace minerals and metals in brightly colored tissues. Other campus labs that may be of
relevance to those interested in joining our group include a DNA synthesis lab and an NMR facility run by the Department of
Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Through collaborations with colleagues in SoLS, we also have access to radioimmunoassay
labs for measuring hormone levels in birds, metabolic chambers for determining
metabolic rate and energy consumption, PCR and gel electrophoresis for
analyzing genetic patterns of mating, and immunocytochemical techniques for
visualizing neuroanatomy. We also
receive fantastic instructional and technological support from our Visualization Lab for webpage
construction and as we prepare manuscripts for publication and posters/talks for
conference presentations.
Financial Support
I also provide this information in my general lab overview, but
it is worth repeating here in case you missed it.
Students accepted into the program are
offered financial support in the form of teaching assistantships. Academic-year stipends, summer support, and fellowship opportunities
through SoLS and ASU are among the most competitive nationally. As an
alternate source of funding that releases students from teaching every
semester, I encourage applicants to submit proposals for the pre-doctoral
fellowships available through the National Science Foundation
and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Contact me with information about your proposed ideas and I would be happy to
help you with your application(s). Also, pending future grant support, on
occasion I will fund students on research assistantships for one semester
during the academic year (e.g. in the spring when field work is usually at its
peak).
To help fund their research projects once they have entered graduate school, I
recommend that my students apply for the many Graduate Student Research Awards that are
offered annually by a number of scientific organizations. The National
Science Foundation also allocates substantial funds to doctoral students
progressing towards their degree, in the form of Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants.
To ensure that students have sufficient
funds to attend 1-2 major conferences per year (e.g. Animal Behavior Society, International Society for Behavioral Ecology,
American Ornithologists Union), SoLS offers
generous conference travel support
to students. Students can also
apply to some of these societies (ISBE, AOU) for travel assistance, and I
am happy to cover any remaining expenses (e.g. registration, room and board) that
might not fall under the guise of these awards.