Honored Guest
Dr. Rulon W. Clark
Dr. Rulon W. Clark earned a B.S. in Biology from Utah State University in 1997. He was fortunate enough to work as an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Edmund D. Brodie Jr.’s research group, which cemented both a love of reptiles and research. He obtained a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2004 under the guidance of Dr. Kraig Adler, and completed several more years of postdoctoral work at Cornell working with Dr. Harry W. Greene. He has been on the faculty in the Department of Biology at San Diego State University since 1997. His laboratory group focuses mainly on predator-prey interactions between pit vipers and small mammals, examining this relationship from both sides using tools from behavioral ecology, biomechanics, physiology, and functional morphology. Additional research areas include the social behavior of snakes and the conservation ecology of threatened or endangered reptiles. He has published over 50 scientific papers and has mentored 6 M.S. students, 3 Ph.D. students, and dozens of undergraduate students.