I am pleased to announce that I successfully defended my PhD dissertation on October 19, 2020! After a leave of absence due to a traumatic brain injury (I’m doing a lot better now!), and then delays due to COVID, I am so, so grateful to have arrived at the point of finishing my doctorate.

At first I was disappointed that it had to happen over Zoom in classic pandemic style, but I have to say that there are several advantages to the increased accessibility that comes along with the format. Friends, colleagues, and loved ones from all over the world were able to attend (far more than would have been able to make the trip to New Haven on a weekday!), and as an added bonus, my public talk could be recorded and now shared here!

Thanks so much to my PhD advisor Dr. Richard Prum for his flattering introduction and to my committee, Drs. Maria Servedio, Suzanne Alonzo, David Vasseur, and Tom Near, as well as to my collaborators on the featured Sage Grouse work: Drs. Gail Patricelli, Alan Krakauer, and Anna Perry, Ryane Logsdon, and Dr. Carter Butts.

For sexual behavior, math, networks, and birds: