

Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences
Office: Naraghi Hall 262
Phone: 664-6926
Botany 1050 Introductory Botany
Botany 3000 Plant Propagation This is an upper-division elective and is part of the Botany concentration.
Botany 3500 Plant Pathology This course counts towards the Microbiology concentration. This course is also an Agricultural Pest Control Adviser Core Course
Botany 4200 Plant Physiology This is an upper-division physiology and is part of the Botany concentration. It is also an Agricultural Pest Control Adviser Core Course
Botany 4600 Plant Ecology This is an Ecology course and is part of the Botany concentration. I will be teaching this in Spring 2009.
Biology 1020 World of Biology Laboratory
I have a strong interest in effective teaching. My philosophy is that students must take an active role in learning and instructors must provide opportunities for them to take that role. Various techniques practiced in a class can quantifiably increase student learning and retention. While I was a Post-doctoral Associate at the University of Wisconsin, I was part of a community of scholars interested in effective undergraduate and graduate education.
The Delta Program in Research, Teaching and Learning
Within the Delta Program, the Teaching-As-Research program aims to use “deliberate, systematic, and reflective…research methods to develop and implement teaching practices that advance the learning experiences and learning outcomes of students/participants and teachers/facilitators.”
The Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching
I am broadly interested in
multi-trophic interactions like plant-herbivore interactions and plant-symbiont
interactions. I am also interested in how plant genetics influences those
multi-trophic interactions.
Currently, I have begun one long-term project in collaboration with Dr.
Michael Stevens investigating the growth and physiology of California Buckeyes (Aesculus
californica). I continue my collaboration with the Cottonwood Ecology Group
from Northern Arizona University and with Dr. Sam St. Clair at Brigham Young
University.
For more details on my current research interests see this page.
Past Research
I am
interested in
nature
photography,
being outside with my family,
reading, science &
religion,
lichens, and
cycling . Last updated:
11/20/2008
Personal
Interests