Background: I grew up in Arnold, MD along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. I played virtually every sport available for a kid to play in America, which included many water sports. In addition to sports, one of my other main passions is playing guitar (for some sample songs check out www.purevolume.com/willbrogan). I graduated from Ithaca College in May 2007 with a B.S. degree in Biology. I then served for a year as a lab technician in a genetics lab in the Neurobiology and behavior department at Cornell University. I am currently in my 1st year as a graduate student at the University of Pittsburgh in the lab of Dr. Rick Relyea in the Ecology and Evolution program.

Research Interests: I am broadly interested in how anthropogenic activities are impacting natural ecosystems via the introduction of environmental contaminants such as nutrient runoff from farm fertilizer and manure, pesticides, etc. My specific area of interest is examining how and why harmful algal blooms (HAB's) occur and what impacts they have on aquatic communities. I plan to conduct summer field studies at the University of Pittsburgh's Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology in Linesville, Pennsylvania.

Contact Information:
University of Pittsburgh

101 Clapp Hall

Pittsburgh, PA 15204

email: wrb5@pitt.edu

phone: (412)-624-4458