Photo Credit: William Wabongo
What creature is this?
I am a graduate student at the University of Washington researching the hunting and traveling behavior of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) in post-fire regenerating forests with the Prugh Lab and Home Range Wildlife Research. I am passionate about wildlife ecology and conservation, and have worked on projects that investigate how Canada lynx are adapting to changing fire regimes in the North Cascades (Home Range), how a changing snowpack influences predator prey dynamics (Snow-Wildlife Dynamics), cougar movement and predator-prey interactions (Washington Predator-Prey Project) and human-elephant conflict mitigation (The Elephants & Bees Project).
Formerly, I was an animator and game developer for over seventeen years in the entertainment industry creating compelling performances for video games, VR, short films, and advertising campaigns. I have worked for companies such as Valve Software, Double Fine Productions, Mindbender, and LucasArts Entertainment; some of my notable projects include Half-Life: Alyx, Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, Brütal Legend, Costume Quest, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.
My interests are understanding animal behavior through movement at the individual and landscape scale, whether by exploring creature biomechanics and locomotion to push the potential for experience and player engagement in video games and virtual reality, or using the art and science of wildlife tracking to learn what animals do in the woods.