What are you up to now?

Dunbar Carpenter

REU '07 and '09

Mentors: Kristina Stinson, David Foster, Jonathan Thompson

Project: Landscape-scale Ecological Drivers of Alliaria Petiolata Invasion in Western Massachusetts  (2007); Biomass Energy and a Changing Forest Landscape: Modeling the Effects of Intensified Harvesting of Massachusetts' Forests for Biomass Energy Production (2009)

Hometown: Portland, OR

College and major: Harvard College, class of 2008, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology

• What you miss most about the REU program: Being at Harvard Forest surrounded by great peers and scientists. Working closely with mentors. The exposure to a wide range of ecological research.
• What you miss least about the REU program: Petersham, while charming, can be a bit isolating.
• What about the REU program has stuck with you: A lot - learning about the scientific process, the tedious and hard work necessary for scientific learning and discovery, many of this skills involved in field work and analyzing data, and scientific collaborations.
• Have you stayed in touch with other REU students? Yes.
• Did your REU experience support or change your school/career plans? My first summer in the program opened my eyes to the world of environmental science and ecological research. The following year I got a bit academically burnt out, but when I came back for another summer I had a great experience and it confirmed to me that I wanted to continue in ecology.
• What are you up to now? This summer I'm working as a field assistant at the Teakettle Ecosystem Experiment in the Sierras in California. In fall 2011 I'm starting a masters in forest ecology at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Eventually I would like to be doing applied research and education in forest landscape ecology.