Banner photo: View of the fall line of James River, Richmond, Virginia
Brief bioI’m originally from Powhatan (“Pau-wa-tan”), Virginia (the James is my hometown river), and I went to Virginia Tech for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Although I loved researching fish in cold, mountain streams, I decided to move to the Midwest to get a PhD studying fish communities inhabiting the most challenging and diverse freshwater ecosystems — big rivers. My broad experiences spanning headwaters to big rivers have helped me develop my research program at NC State University, where my lab group leads a variety of freshwater-focused projects. Ultimately, I hope to contribute my skills and energy to help the global effort of conserving freshwater ecosystems over coming decades.
It’s not surprising that in my free time I enjoy being around water. I’m an avid kayaker, and my favorite hobby is fly-fishing, which I picked up after learning about fish and aquatic insects while living in the trout-abundant mountains of western Virginia and North Carolina. I’ve since expanded my fishing beyond trout to include panfish, whitefish, black basses (my favorite), and even Grass Carp. Besides fishing and floating, my wife and I (w/ our young children in tow) like to travel wherever we can sample local coffee, hikes, and drinks (usually in that order); we welcome any recommendations. |
Coosa River, GA
Redeye Bass (Micropterus coosae)
My baby daughter and me posing in front of the famous Watercress Darter mural in downtown Birmingham, AL.
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