Dear Prospective Graduate Student,
Thanks for your interest in my research group. I am always looking for highly motivated and hard-working students. By looking through these web pages, you can get a sense of my research interests and the projects I have underway at the moment. Generally speaking, current research falls under the themes of stream-riparian-watershed biogeochemistry or urban ecology. Although these seem quite different, they are related in that one of the big questions I am most interested in answering is, where in landscapes is nutrient retention or storage greatest? This question couples considerations of spatial heterogeneity with nutrient retention, and lies at the interface of aquatic-terrestrial biogeochemistry and hydrology-ecology. It can be asked for either unaltered or human-modified landscapes and an answer that differs between the two is of great interest in its own right.
My graduate students are conducting studies of a highly designed and manipulated urban stream/lake chain; ecohydrology, nutrient cycling, and microbial processes in desert riparian zones; and denitrification hot spots of urban landscapes. My group also includes post-doctoral scientists, technicians and research assistants, and undergraduate researchers. We meet frequently to discuss our research progress and, in a reading group format, to keep on top of the literature in ecology and biogeochemistry. This meeting is stimulating and intellectually challenging and we aim to conduct it at the highest possible intellectual level. There are other activities in which graduate students can participate, associated with the SoLS and the CAP LTER. My students are supported on Teaching Assistantships, IGERT Fellowships, and Research Assistantships (RAs). I expect to support my students on RAs at least during summer, allowing them to conduct uninterrupted research. Various departmental and national/agency grants and scholarships have been awarded to my students in the past; I encourage students to seek this funding both for the experience as well as the independence it can afford them.
If you think we share interests and you wish to further pursue the possibility of graduate study with me, please let me know by email as soon as possible, and include a CV and basic information (your interests, GPA, GRE) with your email. I will let you know at that point whether I would consider your application. General information about the existing SoLS graduate programs, including application forms, are available here: (link) My students are generally in the Biology program, mostly for historical reasons. Note that the deadline for receipt of all materials is December 1 for the Graduate College and December 15 for the School of Life Sciences. While applicants may be considered after this, the probability of receiving financial support decreases greatly after that date.
Again, thank you for your interest, and I look forward to corresponding with you further.
Sincerely,
