Hall Of Fame

Alois "Ali" Wambua worked both as the small mammal fundi for the UHURU experiment and the Mammalogy Section at the National Museums of Kenya. His work was funded by the Kenya National Commission for Science, Technology, and Innovation and the U.S. National Science Foundation, and he is now pursuing an MSc at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. His involvement with UHURU rounded out our research group's triumvirate of high-quality Ali's.

Current position: Research Assistant, Pride of Meru Programme

After a year-long stint at the Ipassa Research Center in Gabon, Brandon Hays (left) wore many hats: big-headed ant project manager, UHURU small-mammal trapper, Fulbright scholar, and professional handler of Drs. Goheen, Riginos, Palmer, and Pietrek. He officially joined our group in Spring 2018, and wrote a bang-up thesis on the demography of mutualism breakdown in Laikipia.

Brandon cut his teeth on Morris and Doak's demographic modeling book, and quickly gained some madd skillz in said techniques. In addition, we will never forget the near-collison between land rovers KAW (Rutherford), driven by Brandon at a top speed of 2km/hr, and KBG (Dookie), push-started at a top speed of 3km/hr.

Current position: PhD Student, Duke University

Co-advised by Matt Kauffman and Jake, Brett "AKA Beej" Jesmer defended his dissertation in Fall 2018. Recently, he commenced postdoctoral studies at the Max Planck-Yale Center for Biodiversity, Movement, and Global Change, then started a job at Virginia Tech in 2021. Brett's dissertation focused on resource limitation, population dynamics, migration, and darned near everything else about moose throughout the Intermountain West.

From dust-ups with the authories on Lake Naivasha to emergency sprints into the Hoback Basin bush, Brett will forever occupy a unique space not only in our heads, but in our hearts as well.

Current position: Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech University

In 2020, Britt "AKA BTB" Brito completed a bang-up thesis on occupancy and diet specialization of the Wyoming pocket gopher, one of North America's most restricted and rarest rodents.

Britt is a superfan of Aaron Rodgers, and other mammals great and small. Enduring Jake for three courses during her undergraduate bestowed Britt with the patience and tenacity necessary to endure the Tatooine-esque landscapes of Wyoming's Red Desert.

Current position: Biologist, Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Cate Lonyangaita was a valuable member of Team UHURU, coming to us from Dr. Steve's wildlife vet crew at Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

Christian Bopp (right) worked with Caroline on Ol Pejeta Conservancy to characterize the determinants of lion kill-sites. In this photo, Christian is simulating the role of a poacher (who typically wear oversized puffy blue coveralls), thereby enticing a special forces dog to gnaw on his arm.

Current position: MSc Student, Northern Arizona University

Corinna Riginos is a staff scientist for The Nature Conservancy in Lander, managing the KLEE experiment, working as an environmental consultant, and rapidly becoming the state's go-to expert on deer-vehicle collisions (all while raising two super-adorable kids). Despite working as a postdoctoral associate in our group for a tragically short period of time, we often claim credit for her professional success in the company of folks who don’t know any better.

Current position: Director of Science, The Nature Conservancy Wyoming Chapter

I am from central Argentina, a region characterized by mountains, creeks and dry native forests that always have stimulated my inner passion for nature. After graduation from the National University of Córdoba, I participated in several research projects, including occupancy estimation of vulnerable species (e.g. jaguar, lowland tapir) for conservation prioritization, and investigating responses of pumas to the migration of guanacos in Patagonia. Lately, I’ve worked to assess the response of the mammal community to changes in land use at the southern Chaco forest.

Jesse Alston jumped head first into a dissertation that was equal parts thermal physiology and macroecology, showcasing an admirable combination of creativity, courage, and insanity in tackling projects well outside our group’s proverbial wheelhouse. Upon completion of his PhD, he worked to become an animal movement whizbanger at the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding in Görlitz, Germany.

During his tenure at UW, Jesse worked tirelessly to raise awareness for several of life’s underappreciated gems, including (but certainly not limited to) Billy Joe Shaver live albums, delicioso homegrown rabbits, and outside trap pull blocks. And we would be remiss to not mention his clutch spotting a P. pardus outside the Aberdare Wandare gate, providing good clean fun for one and all.

Current position: Assistant Professor, University of Arizona

Marissa "AKA The Notorious MAD" Dyck was Rhiannon's padowan learner, managing UHURU in 2017. In this photo, she bathes in the radiant charisma of a recently-weaned rufous elephant shrew.

Current position: PhD Student, Ohio University