I have a great deal of passion for my work as a scientist; as an instructor I am given a welcome opportunity to share that passion with others.
As scientists we have a responsibility to perform the highest-quality research that we are capable of; we also have a responsibility to do our best to educate others in science, its methods and its history.
I have a deep respect for the power of community; the expansion of knowledge has been driven not by the lone researcher in a lab, but by the communication and interaction, the feedback and honing, that takes place in lab group meetings, in presentation halls at conferences, and in the pages of journals, the ‘marketplace of ideas’. The more people involved, and the more perspectives represented in this process, the more our knowledge will advance.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Lecturer: Santa Clara University, BIO 023: Investigations in Evolution and Ecology. Instructor of record for an introductory course on the experimental and statistical approaches used in modern ecological and evolutionary studies, with an emphasis on experimental design, data analysis, interpretation and presentation. Course includes lecture and laboratory sections, involving in-lab and field activities. Spring 2010-2014.
Lecturer: Santa Clara University, BIO 022: Introduction to Evolution and Ecology. Instructor of record for an introductory course on the key concepts in evolution and ecology, including population genetics, natural selection and adaptation, phylogenetics and biodiversity, demography, and interactions among organisms and their environments. Winter 2014.
Lecturer: Santa Clara University, BIO 156: General Ecology. Instructor of record for an upper-division course examining the factors that limit the distribution, abundance, and diversity of organisms, including the physical environment and interactions with other species. Topics: population dynamics, interspecific relationships, community structure, and ecosystem processes. Fall 2009, Winter 2012-2013.
Lecturer: Santa Clara University, BIO 144: Natural History of Baja California. Instructor of record for an upper-division course on the natural history and ecology of the Baja Peninsula. This course is taught in conjunction with a course on Natural History Writing led by Dr. John Farnsworth. Lectures are presented weekly through the winter quarter, culminating in a 10-day trip exploring the Baja Peninsula and Isla Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez through hiking and kayaking. Winter 2011-2012.
Lecturer: Santa Clara University, BIO 006: The Oceans. Instructor of record for a non-majors course examining the major ocean ecosystems and their inhabitants, with special attention paid to issues of governmental policy, sustainability, and human impacts on marine ecosystems. Laboratory and field activities emphasize hands-on exploration of local marine habitats. Winter 2010, Fall 2010-2012.
Lecturer: Santa Clara University, BIO 165: Animal Behavior. Instructor of record for a course examining the behavior of animals in nature using an organizational scheme that recognizes proximate, or immediate, causes of behavior and evolutionary bases for behavior. Topics include physiological correlates of behavior, perception of natural stimuli (light, sound, chemicals); and behavioral ecology of foraging, mating systems, parent-offspring relationships, and social behavior. Winter 2011.
Lecturer: Universidad de Vigo, Conservación de Biodiversidad. Lecturer (in Spanish) for laboratory practicals for an upper-division course on the issues, theory and practice of conservation biology. Topics: biological reserve design, assessment of diversity and richness at multiple scales, Island Biogeography Theory, dispersal and animal tracking technologies. Spring 2008, Fall 2008.
Lecturer: University of Ottawa, BIO 1120: Introduction to Organismal Biology. Instructor of record for a team-taught introductory course on the evidence for, and the fundamentals underlying the evolution of biological diversity. Topics: natural selection, speciation, the history of life, extinction, hominid evolution; adaptation and the geographical distribution of organisms; the effects of human population growth on the structure and function of ecological systems, and the implications of these effects to future human welfare. Fall 2005.
Lecturer: Carleton University, BIOL 3602: Conservation Biology. Instructor of record/lab coordinator for third-year undergraduate course on the issues, theory and practice of conservation biology. Lecture topics included conservation management, landscape ecology and issues of scale, the species concept, economics and environmental ethics, politics and the media. Winter 2005.