Paul CaraDonna
Year Graduated:
2010
Conservation Scientist & Assistant Professor
Job description
I am a conservation (research) scientist at the Chicago Botanic Garden and an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University.
Research at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Research in my lab group investigates the interplay among species interactions, population dynamics, and community patterns — mostly with plants and pollinators (but sometimes with other organisms, like marmots or protists). We are also particularly interested in temporal ecology. For example, how do the interactions between plants and pollinators play out over various time scales? We tend to ask our research questions from a basic ecological perspective to better understand how plant and animal populations and communities operate in nature, but with the ultimate goal of improving conservation efforts in light of various global changes (e.g., climate change, pollinator declines, urbanization). My lab group addresses research questions using a variety of approaches including: observational field studies that leverage existing natural variation; field and laboratory experiments that build upon knowledge of this natural variation; analysis of long-term datasets; and analytical tools like network analysis and simulation models. We also very much value natural history, and we love working as a collaborative team.
Teaching at Northwestern University. At Northwestern University, I teach three classes: (1) The Nature of Plants, which is a large (100 student) course for non-science majors about the fascinating world of plants and botany; (2) Pollination Ecology Seminar, which introduces freshman biology students to the importance of pollination, pollinators, and their conservation; and (3) Plant-Animal Interactions, which is an upper-level undergraduate and graduate student seminar course.
Finally, as part of my role at both institutions, I manage a research lab (including graduate students and postdocs) and I mentor numerous undergraduates.
Why did you choose this program?
I grew up in the Boston area, and long story short, I became fascinated in plants and trying to identify them. I thought I could figure out how to identify all the trees of Massachusetts with a simple tree i.d. book, but soon realized this would not be the case. I was lucky enough to have a friend who went to HSU, and told me about the biology program. So, I packed up and headed to Arcata to study botany.
It took me several years to realize the true uniqueness of the HSU botany program. For me, the hands-on, lab, and field-based learning was amazing (and now as a professor, is a crucial part of my own courses). For example, in graduate school, I was talking to a student who got a degree from Berkeley. She said she took a botany course, and I asked about the lab. She responded, "Oh, we just had a discussion." This comment blew my mind. How on earth do you study botany via a discussion?
It was around this time, in graduate school, that it became clear to me that my experience at HSU was unparalleled. To this date, having colleagues in biology, botany, and ecology all over the world, I am still impressed, and honored, to have studied botany at HSU. There is simply nothing like it anywhere.
But, to put it simply, the reason I loved the program was the amazing lab classes, the incredibly passionate professors, and the ecological setting of the North Coast as a learning laboratory, and the HSU student community. I mean, seriously, once someone gets me talking about HSU, I cannot stop. It was truly a life changing experience that literally paved the way for my future.
How did this program prepare you for your job?
I would not have my job without my experience at HSU as a botany student. The experiences I had at HSU as a botany student are becoming more and more rare in programs across the world. When I applied for graduate school, many professors at leading universities were aware of HSU and its impressive, hands-on learning. Many said, "Oh, well, I know you are well versed in the "-ologies". As a graduate student at University of Arizona in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program, I was also picked immediately to teach the field-based or lab-based courses. Despite the size of the program, few other students had skills in plant ecology, taxonomy, insects, behavior, etc.
When I explain to colleagues all of the courses I took at HSU—general botany, plant taxonomy, general zoology, general biology, entomology, plant physiology, pollination biology—people cannot believe it! And then when I tell them these were all lab classes, they are blown away.
So, put simple, the HSU program in botany and biology opened up so many doors...
What did you enjoy most about the program?
I enjoyed the hands-on lab and field-based learning. It is one thing to take a class on any sort of class in botany or ecology, but it is a totally different experience to have the class driven by the laboratory component. In fact, it wasn't until graduate school that I realized that these sorts of classes at other universities were not lab-based. I couldn't understand it, the lab and field component is what made the experience for me (and many of my other classmates).
What would you say to prospective students who are thinking about applying to this program?
If you want a real, hands-on education in the natural sciences, there is no school with a better program. You can look at other top-ranked universities, but they cannot offer what HSU provides for a learning experience. Just go take a look and see. HSU botany and biology are truly one of a kind. It is the type of program that gives students skills to actually help save the world. Maybe that sounds like exactly what you'd expect from an HSU botany student, but it is true.
Other comments?
My responses above only scratch the surface of how passionate I am about HSU botany and what it has done for my life. I can talk about specific professors, specific classes, how the skills I had opened up doors for jobs in botany before I even graduated, how it made entering a competitive graduate program pretty simple, and how I am still reaping the benefits of these experiences now as a professor running a research lab and teaching the next generation.