Our GK-12 SCWIBLES Graduate Fellows were Ph.D. students at the University of California Santa Cruz, from both the Environmental Studies Department and the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. Click on their names to see a full Bio page and a poster created by that fellow that highlights their personal and professional background information.
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Nina Arnberg Ph.D. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| I develop science curriculum that helps students think and learn like scientists. | |
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Vikram Baliga Ph.D.Candidate Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| Did you know that one fish species may pick off parasites from another fish species? | |
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Beth Baastiaans Ph.D. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| Why do male mesquite lizards from Mexico display bright orange, yellow and blue signals? | |
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Caleb Bryce Ph.D. Candidate Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| I had no idea that I would be training dogs and wolves to run on treadmills. | |
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Hamutahl Cohen Ph.D. Student Environmental Studies |
| I was always afraid of insects as a kid! Why am I now fascinated by them? | |
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Tara Cornelisse Ph.D. Environmental Studies |
| The Ohlone tiger beetle uses human trails as hunting habitat. What’s up with that? | |
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Kristin de Nesnera Ph.D. Candidate Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| I had no idea that I could make a career out of tromping around the seashore, but after a summer of permanently pruney fingers, I was hooked! | |
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Duran Fiack Ph.D. Candidate Environmental Studies |
| Who would have thought that growing up in rural Yolo county would have led to this. | |
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Carla Fresquez Ph.D. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| My interest in ecology has led to opportunities that I never knew were possible. | |
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Chandra Goetsch Ph.D. Student Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| I never planned on becoming a scientist while I was in high school. | |
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Kim Goetz Ph.D. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| It was my love for the outdoors that would guide the rest of my career. | |
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Ben Higgins Ph.D. Student Ecology & Evolutionary Biology |
| I still am the kid playing around on the rocks and in the streams, mud, and tide pools. |
Jeffrey Jenkins Ph.D. Candidate
Environmental Studies
How do people’s understanding of the environment and its resources influence their choices?
Jenny Lovell Ph.D. Candidate
Environmental Studies
Living in New Orleans I saw first-hand the social injustice of environmental problems.
Kristin McCully Ph.D.
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
It’s important to understand how we, as humans, impact and interact with the natural world around us.
Tim Norris Ph.D.
Environmental Studies
I love maps, and exploring how maps are used in so many ways.
Jennie Ohayon Ph.D.
Environmental Studies
How can urban restoration and the value of community action help address environmental issues?
Elissa Olimpi Ph.D. Candidate
Environmental Studies
What do bats in southern Mexico have to do with coffee plantations?
Joe Sapp Ph.D. Candidate
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Bugs, bugs, bugs. They are every where!
Max Tarjan Ph.D. Candidate
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Surrounded by preserved wetlands in inconspicuous rural New Jersey, I grew up in close proximity to the natural world.
Jorge Torres Ortega M.A.
Environmental Studies
When I was a high school student, we had a reforestation program. The experience of protecting biodiversity motivated me to study conservation.
Catherine Wade Ph.D. Candidate
Environmental Studies
I think it is pretty cool that some of the things I get to do for work are activities that people like to do for fun!
Yiwei Wang Ph.D.
Environmental Studies
going to high school in Cupertino, I didn’t really know anything about nature and I wish someone had told me how many awesome animals, plants, and hiking trails were just a few minutes away.
Jenn Yost Ph.D.
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Discovering plants was an important event in my life, and now I use plants to involve young people in the wonders of studying biology!
Veronica Yovovich Ph.D. Candidate
Environmental Studies
I grew up in urban Chicago – where the only wildlife was the occasional squirrel or raccoon. Now I get to study mountain lions and deer!
Rachel Zuercher Ph.D. Candidate
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
I was born and raised in South Dakota, far from any ocean. Now I am a marine biologist!