For anyone interested in joining the lab, please read our authorship guidelines [revised & updated Feb 2022].

Graduate Students:

I am always interested in hearing from prospective graduate students to my lab. As the other pages on this site probably make clear, the students that would make the best fit for my lab are those who are interested in pursuing big questions in evolutionary and behavioral ecology that somehow span the basic-applied divide, and employ integrative approaches. Students who have thrived under my mentorship are motivated, have experienced enough of scientific research to really understand if this pathway is for them, want to grow as independent thinkers, and with whom I’ve been able to develop a good rapport including open lines of communication. We mainly study birds, and mainly do so in grassland and Neotropical systems. The closer your interests and experiences are to these systems, the better likelihood that our scientific goals will coincide.

Currently, I hope to recruit either a MS or PhD student interested in the interface of movement ecology and conservation of grassland birds, especially those interested in the growing local motus network. If this topic intersect with your interests, consider reading about motus and some of the work we have done on both migration and dispersal in the lab for more background (more papers on the Publications page), then please email me, explaining why you are interested in my lab (the more specific the better!) and attach your CV. Prospective students can find much valuable information about the Division of Biology’s graduate program here and discover the some reasons to attend grad school at K-State here. Potential applicants would compete for support through the Division of Biology which includes summer stipend, tuition waivers, and health insurance. If you are in the enviable position of bringing your own funding with you (i.e. a fellowship), then more things are possible!

Post-docs:

I welcome inquiries from finishing PhD students who are exploring post-doctoral possibilities.  I am willing to work with you to find funding options depending upon your interests.

Undergraduates:

Are you interested in …?

  • gaining hands-on experience doing bird research in the outdoors?
  • learning avian physiology techniques in the lab?
  • getting involved in a lab to learn what research and grad school might be like?
  • earning your work-study funds doing something other than food service?
  • learning more about tropical ecology through literature-based projects or working with already-collected samples or data?
  • developing your research skills, including completion of an independent research project?

If so, there may be an opportunity for you. Depending on the time of year, goals and skills of the student, I may have projects suitable for internships, independent research, or credit.

What you should do:

Make sure you spend some time reading the information on this website and consider reading one or two of my papers. If you are still interested, please send me an email in which you describe what it is you hope to get out of working in my lab, and what degree and year you are in. Please also attach a document containing an up-to-date CV that lists relevant coursework and describes any research experience you have had (if any). We will meet and together develop a plan that includes clear expectations of the scientific goals of the work and expectations.