Liz Studer is currently a first year PhD candidate in Matt Ayres’ lab in EEES.
In addition to the focus on teaching, Studer was also drawn to the broad scope of the program. “I love the interdisciplinary aspect which combines social and environmental research to find solutions to the most challenging problems of our generation, like climate change and biodiversity loss” Studer comments. “The program is not just linear scholarship, but includes a broader vision of how diverse scientific collaboration can herald our society into a more sustainable future.”
Communicating her own passion for science comes as second nature to Studer. As an undergrad at the University of Colorado she participated in GAMES (Girls at the Museum Exploring Science), which helped dispel the cultural myths around insects and science for girls. “It’s interesting how subliminal messages affect how girls react and respond to science,” Studer comments, noting how society teaches girls to be afraid of insects and spiders, up to the popular nomenclature for bugs: creepy crawlies.
Despite this, Studer has always been interested in insects and realized it was her research passion while completing her undergrad degrees in Ecology and Anthropology at the University of Colorado. As a summer field technician studying the American pika, one of her professors noted how much she seemed to enjoy observing and collecting insects and suggested she might want to pursue research in entomology.
She took her professor’s advice and completed her Master’s Degree in Entomology at theUniversity of Georgia spending most of her time at the beach, thanks to the advice of another one of her professors: love what you’re doing. “He told me you have to think about your study organism and how it works for you,” says Studer. She combined her love for the beach with her interest in insects to complete her master’s thesis on the conservation of an endangered tiger beetle species, which happened to be present on the Georgia barrier islands.
Studer continues to love what she’s doing and will be conducting research in the Hubbard Brooke experimental forest as part of a broad-scale biodiversity project examining the dynamics between invertebrates in green and brown food-webs.
Despite being from Colorado, Studer admits she hasn’t learned to ski and is looking forward to exploring all that Dartmouth has to offer, both on and off the slopes.
You can catch up with Liz at the next Brain Buzz event, Wednesday October 26 at the Upper Valley Food Coop, White River Junction. Visit the event page on Facebook to learn more.
Welcome to Dartmouth, Liz!
