Being a Researcher
Being a biologist takes courage. To do meaningful work, we must step again and again into the unknown. Each time we are forced to recognize the limits of our imagination, intellect, and technology. Most experiments take many rounds of trouble-shooting before they provide anything resembling an answer and much of what we think we know is incomplete at best. If you are in biology because you like feeling smart, you’ll probably end up unhappy.
We are working in the midst of climate change and mass extinction, so our task is urgent. Our goal is to learn as much as we can from natural systems while we can, with the hope of solving problems both applied (e.g. how can we design visual processing systems that efficiently solve particular tasks) and academic (e.g. how and why do eyes evolve).
This isn’t easy stuff. So we try to rejoice in the weirdness and diversity of life and find joy and meaning in the process of science rather than its uncertain and usually humbling outcomes.
We are working in the midst of climate change and mass extinction, so our task is urgent. Our goal is to learn as much as we can from natural systems while we can, with the hope of solving problems both applied (e.g. how can we design visual processing systems that efficiently solve particular tasks) and academic (e.g. how and why do eyes evolve).
This isn’t easy stuff. So we try to rejoice in the weirdness and diversity of life and find joy and meaning in the process of science rather than its uncertain and usually humbling outcomes.
Graduate Research
If you are interested in pursuing a PhD or MS with us, we would love to hear from you! My goal is for all graduate students to establish independent research programs. That said, before applying, please consider carefully the systems that we have experience working with and the sorts of questions that we're asking. The traits I most value in prospective students are curiosity, intellectual engagement, integrity, and a capacity for self-assessment.
Undergraduate Research
We welcome undergraduates to apply to work in the lab. We believe that undergraduates benefit from being responsible for their own independent projects. Previous lab experience is unnecessary, but please take a close look at our on-going projects and come to us with an idea of which project you'd like to contribute to and/or what lab techniques you'd like to learn.