Information for Prospective Students

NOTE: I WILL NOT be considering applications for doctoral students beginning the 2023-2024 academic year.

Most of my research is based at UW’s Friday Harbor Laboratories on San Juan Island, where I study how organisms perform within the physical constraints of their environment. I am particularly interested in sessile organisms on rocky shores, where competition for space is often severe and thermal, osmotic, and hydrodynamic conditions can be extreme. I study both plants and animals at many levels of biological organization, from the mechanics of biological materials, to the persistence of populations, to the characterization of the physical environment and how it influences biological processes. My research draws upon the fields of biomechanics, ecology, physiology and oceanography and typically employs a combination of field, laboratory and modeling techniques. This work involves numbers, equations, and an understanding of underlying physical principles; we use math and physics every day!

Students in my lab are members of the graduate program in the Department of Biology at the University of Washington. While my research activities are largely based at the Friday Harbor Laboratories on San Juan Island, I am on the Seattle campus often (especially Autumn and Winter quarters) and maintain a lab there as well. I encourage students to take full advantage of the fabulous resources these two campuses have to offer. There is no set formula for splitting time between campuses; I expect each student to develop a schedule that fits his/her/their needs. I expect students to be strong, independent thinkers who are self-motivated and enjoy developing their own research projects.

If you have any other questions, feel free to email me at ecarring@uw.edu.