More About Me

I am a professor in the Biology Department at Purdue University Fort Wayne. My students and I form the K-Team, and we conduct research on the ecology, behavior, and conservation of wildlife, especially imperiled reptiles. Learn more about that side of things at the Research tab.

I also direct the Environmental Resources Center, or ERC, one of the university’s Centers of Excellence. The mission of the ERC is to promote the understanding and conservation of our natural resources.

Outside of work, as time allows I enjoy sculpting and other forms of artistic expression. Lately, that is largely in the form of wire sculpture, particularly copper and aluminum. More about that here.

And if you are still reading, here is some more. I came to then IPFW in 1992 after obtaining my Ph.D. from the University of California Riverside. I served as Chair of Biology in the 2000s, and more recently was Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, which is now the College of Science and College of Liberal Arts.

I received the Outstanding Research Award, the university’s highest award for research, in 2018, and was named a Fellow in the Indiana Academy of Sciences in the same year. In 2017, I was awarded the Lowell W. Beineke Medal, the highest honor in the then College of Arts and Sciences.