Meet the Organizers

Some of the graduate students that run SUTS (Spring 2016). Photo by Ian Wright.

Science Under the Stars was founded and is organized entirely by UT-Austin students in the Ecology, Evolution & Behavior (EEB), Plant Biology (PB), and Cell & Molecular Biology (CMB) graduate programs. While we may have diverse interests in our respective fields, we all have one thing in common: a love of science!

Present members:

: Anne Chambers [EEB] studies the evolutionary history of reptiles and amphibians. She is interested in what genetics can tell us about the evolutionary processes that form species. Anne spends her free time hiking in southern Utah. Find more here: eannechambers.wordpress.com.

: Julia York [EEB] studies how polar animals sense temperature and how they might respond to climate change. She is originally from Alaska and hopes to work in Antarctica some day.

: Isaac Miller-Crews [EEB] studies the evolution of social behavior. He researches how neural gene networks regulate reproduction. A native Austinite, Isaac enjoys fishing, hiking, and reading SciFi books. Find more here: https://imillercrews.wordpress.com/

: Christina Balentine [EEB] studies human anthropological genetics. She is interested in learning how humans survive and thrive in extreme environments (like the cold climates of the Arctic and sub-Antarctic) by studying the DNA and culture/archaeology of ancient and present-day peoples. Find more here: https://cmbalentine.wordpress.com

: Allison Davis Connelly [EEB] studies animal behavior using a clonal fish. Her research focuses on how these fish change their behavior based on their environment and what this tells us about the evolution and maintenance of sexual reproduction. A New Orleanian at heart, Allison spends her free time cooking all things spicy and longing for the swamps.

: Jeff Coleman [EEB] is broadly interested in evolutionary genetics and genomics. He is currently trying to understand the genetic mechanisms that cause brightly colored and chemically defended poison frogs in the group Epipedobates to take up toxins from their diets into their skin. More about Jeff here: http://cannatellalab.org/authors/jeffrey-coleman/.

: Emma Dietrich [EEB] is interested in social evolution, microbiology, and behavioral ecology. Emma studies the microbiome and natural history of a social spider in Texas. She also loves baking french macarons. Website: http://arachnidlady.wordpress.com/

: Emlyn Resetarits [EEB] is interested in phycology, behavioral ecology, community ecology, & aquatic ecology. She researches how interactions between species can promote cooperation within a species using a variety of taxa. More about Emlyn here: http://www.leiboldlab.com/emlyn-resetarits.html

: Caitlin Friesen [EEB] is interested in social behavior, neuroendocrinology, and environmental physiology. Her research examines the effect of the social and physical environment on physiological and behavioral patterns that govern how individuals interact. You can read more about her work here: https://caitlinfriesen.wordpress.com/

: Kelly Wallace [EEB] studies cognitive ecology and how behavior influences cognition. She is researching the question “What are the behavioral tendencies of a good learner?” by putting fish through math tests, mazes, and personality tests.

: Decio Correa [EEB] is interested in ecology and herpetology. He studies the bacteria that live in association with frogs and tadpoles. You can read more about his work here: https://www.deciocorrea.com/

: Nathan LeClear [PB] is interested in botany, systematics, & biogeography. He loves the diversity of plants, and studies the relationships of the genus Jatropha and the evolution of plant diversity in the seasonally dry tropical forests of Mexico.

: Emily Rees [PB] studies plant ecology & plant-animal coevolution. She loves being outdoors, whether that is doing field research or riding her bicycle around Austin. Emily also spends some of her free-time baking, reading sci-fi, and cuddling her two kitties.

: Erin Giglio [EEB].

: Ashley Green [PB].

: Andrius Dagilis [EEB] researches the evolution of gene order, chromosomes, and speciation.

: Tracy Burkhard [EEB] is broadly interested in sexual selection and animal communication. Her current research explores the evolution of song in Neotropical singing mice, taking her into the cloud forests of Costa Rica to trap the little brown mice and record their trilling vocalizations. In Austin, you can catch her playing water polo, doing yoga, or enjoying Tex-Mex.

Past members:

: Gautam Surya [EEB] is interested in evolutionary ecology and conservation biology. Gautam works on bird community evolution and conservation in the Eastern Himalayas.

: Rachel Wright [CMB] studies ecological genomics. You can read more about her work here: http://rmwright.weebly.com/

: Nichole Bennett is a graduate student in Ecology, Evolution & Behavior

: Olivia Schmidt [EEB].

: Rebecca Tarvin [EEB] studies evolutionary biology. She researches how poison frogs avoid poisoning themselves. In general she is interested in how animals adapt to their environments. Website: http://www.rebeccatarvin.com/

: Marie Strader [EEB] researches coral reef genomics and ecology. You can read more about her work here: http://mariestrader.weebly.com

: Rong Ma [EEB] studies chemical ecology, behavior, genomics, and social evolution. He is fascinated by the complex system of chemical communication in honey bees, especially in the ways that pheromones influence behavior. Rong enjoys rock climbing, archery, and calligraphy. Website: http://www.rongma.org/