josh @ respectablename.com

Education

Northwestern University

Evanston IL, in association with the Chicago Botanic Garden
MSc in Plant Biology and Conservation
Thesis title: Hygroscopic awns of two prairie grasses, Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans PDF
Thesis funding: Northwestern Plant Biology and Conservation Award for MS Students

Denison University

Granville, OH
Major in Biology with Ecology concentration; Minor in Chemistry

Publications

Drizin, J.M. 2012. Heritability and adaptive function of a hygroscopic response in two prairie grasses. Midwest Ecology and Evolution Conference (poster, abstract)

Pope, N.S., J.M. Drizin. 2009. The effects of prescribed fire on two rare wildflowers (Sisyrinchium fuscatum and Helianthemum dumosum) in sandplain grassland on Nantucket Island, MA. Accepted, Nantucket Biodiversity Initiative (Abstract)

McCall, A.C., J.M. Drizin, S.D. Fettig, and K.A. Sparks. 2007. Phenological differences in Vernonia gigantea affect seed predation but not pollination success. Accepted, Journal of the Ohio Academy of Sciences (Abstract)

Experience

Chicago Botanic Garden - Glencoe, IL

Database administrator - 9/2012 - 8/2013

  • Created and maintained a database and frontend of 1200+ records for the herbarium collections and genetic components of the Zerega Lab's Artocarpus projects
  • Generated distribution maps from collections data using R

Field Leader and Lab Manager - 6/2011 - 9/2012

  • Devised a more efficient GPS protocol that saved at least 200 work-hours per year
  • Led an 8-person student research team in the field and managed 12 volunteers in the lab
  • Coordinated the summer field assistant application process

Research Assistant - 6/2010 - 9/2010

  • Collected data for a long-term field and garden study in Kensington, Minnesota
  • Designed and executed a protocol for georeferencing 15 years of survey data points

Research Assistant - 6/2007 - 8/2007

  • Designed a method of photographing field sites using kite aerial photography
  • Developed a system of field site strategic markings used to assemble aerial photographs for research

Nantucket Conservation Foundation - Nantucket, Massachusetts

Field Assistant - 5/2009 - 11/2009

  • Acquired Wildland Firefighter II certification and participated in prescribed burns in prairie habitat
  • Surveyed for rare plant species
  • Radio-relocated spotted turtles for a distribution study
  • Removed invasive Phragmites from wetland properties

Bureau of Land Management - Rawlins, Wyoming

Botany / Wildlife Seasonal Intern - 7/2008 - 11/2008

  • Collected seed and maintained records of collections for the Seeds of Success program for storage in the Millennium Seed Bank in Kew, Great Britain and for gas and oil reclamation projects
  • Identified plants associated with collected species using dichotomous keys
  • Monitored bluebird and bat house projects

Additional skills

  • Software: proficient with R, Linux, and Libre/MS Office. Familiar with Python and ArcGIS
  • Proficient with Topcon and Trimble GPS Units
  • Wildland Firefighter II Certification (S130 / S190)