Ecological and Evolutionary History of Scorpions
|
I have a passion for multidisciplinary research and training, experimental field ecology, invertebrate zoology, teaching, and natural history of terrestrial arthropods. My research focuses on the phylogenetics and evolutionary history of Neotropical and Californian Scorpions, with particular interest in niche partitioning, character displacement, biogeography, community assemblages, and interspecific interactions.
|
|
About MePursuing a career in natural history has been inherent throughout my life. It is difficult for me to imagine myself in any other endeavor. My earliest memories of being intrigued by nature were through my grandfather. We frequented the California Academy of Sciences, and San Francisco Zoo when I was a kid; he regaled me with stories of how he visited the academy when he was a child and having the same sense of amazement as I did. Through this fascination, I began to maintain a menagerie of snakes, spiders, lizards, frogs, rats, fish, and geckos in order to gratify my need to understand the natural world around me. My career in scouting, and the various courses, research projects, and internships throughout my undergraduate and postgraduate life have all enforced a goal to become a zoologist.
|
ResearchThe culmination of all of my previous research experience reached its zenith when I was accepted to a master’s degree through San Francisco State University. The program combined captivating coursework on campus, and to conduct fascinating research at the California Academy of Sciences. My research was the perfect integration of my yearning to study systematics, combined with a newfound fascination with functional ecology. Currently, I work alongside Curator Lauren Esposito studying the systematics of an enigmatic genus of tree-dwelling scorpion. Having the opportunity to work closely with so many talented and motivated scientists at the Academy, San Francisco State, and Central America has given me a model of the type of independent researcher I aspire to be.
|
|
|
Teaching and MentoringI feel strongly that scientists have a fundamental duty to communicate their science to the greater community, and I strive to exemplify that commitment. Working in a public-facing institution has allowed me to discuss my research through both weekly events like the NightLife at the Academy for adults, and K-12 serving events like the Bay Area Science Festival with over 20,000 attendees. These events have allowed me to hone science communication skills to explain my research and its broader importance in plain language. Throughout my master’s degree, my wealth of knowledge, skills, and passion for the subject matter has made me an effective and patient teacher. I have experienced profound agonies and ecstasies through my research and teaching experience, all of which solidify and reaffirm my strict conviction of becoming a professor of evolutionary biology.
|