Katherine A Hovanes

I have been a lifelong admirer of nature, but until college, I struggled to turn my desire to preserve nature into action. As an undergraduate student, my research experience with an endangered salamander species opened my eyes to the vital role of science in conservation. Since then I have pursued a career as a scientist with a focus on research that will inform the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems. From my internship studying coastal marsh erosion in the Gulf of Mexico and my dissertation on the ecology of perennial grasses in the endangered pine savanna ecosystem to my postdoctoral research on an invasive grass species that threatens the biodiversity and ecosystem function of Sonoran Desert plant communities, my research has been personally driven by my desire to understand and preserve nature. I aspire to integrate my research into undergraduate courses as a professor to impart my passion for science and nature to future generations of learners.