Timothy W. Chumley

B.S. Botany, University of Wyoming 1995

M.S. Botany, University of Wyoming 1998

I am interested in plant systematics, and the intricate interlacing of evolution, ecology, geography and physiology that shape our vision of a natural system of classification. What I desire most in a program is one that combines field work with a broad education in the practice of systematic botany, including anatomy and morphology, classical morphological taxonomy, as well as molecular and phylogenetic methods. That's why I am at the University of Texas in the School of Biological Sciences and very glad to be here. My advisor is Bob Jansen.

My dissertation project is a systematic study of the genus Menodora Humb. & Bonpl. in the Oleaceae. A copy of my proposal is available on request. I have a few pictures (without frames or with frames) of Menodora as well, and some links to other Oleaceae or Menodora sites. This work has been supported by grants from Sigma Xi, the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, the graduate program in plant biology at UT, and an NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant.

I completed a M.S. in 1998 working with Ron Hartman at the Rocky Mountain Herbarium (Botany). The subject of my thesis was a floristic survey of east-central Colorado. The 4800 square mile study area lies between the South Platte and Arkansas Rivers, and is bounded by the Great Plains in the east and the Mosquito Range in the west. I enjoyed my experiences at UW immensely, and look fondly back on living in a region with little poison ivy (

), the bane of my existence. I also worked on the Atlas of the Vascular Flora of Wyoming under Ron's supervision.

I gave a short talk on phylogenetic relationships in the Ecliptinae (Asteraceae, Heliantheae) at the meetings in Portland in 2000. In January 2001, I visited South Africa to collect Menodora and other things, and collected in Argentina (see my pictures!) in December of 2001 and 2002. At the Madison meetings in the summer of 2002, I presented a poster on the genus Lipochaeta (Asteraceae, Heliantheae) and a talk about my work with Menodora, and at the Evolution meetings in Chico in the summer of 2003, I talked about my work in the Pelargonium chloroplast genome.

I was a TA for Dr. Sata's BIO 302 class in the spring of 1999, and in Native Plants (BIO 406D, formerly BOT 419, Native Plants) for Dr. Mark Bierner for a few semesters. Currently I am working as a research assistant on a project looking at chloroplast structure and evolution.

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This is Elvis, who, being nothing more than a hound dog, is of course of no help whatsoever in the field, but he LIVES for frisbee.

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This is Menodora heterophylla, the low menodora, in flower at McKinney Falls State Park. My dissertation is aimed at understanding the species and biogeographical relationships of this genus.

This is Alice, possibly one of the happiest dogs on the planet.

And this is their frisbee carrier.