Curriculum Vitae

 

Elijah A. Goodwin

 

Home: 574 Bernardston Rd.                           Work:  Morrill Science Center

Greenfield, MA 01301                                                611 N. Pleasant St.     

413-774-2903                                                  Amherst, MA 01003

413-522-5882  (cell)                                        413-522-5882  (cell)

elijah@bio.umass.edu                                       413-545-3243 (Fax)

 

Professional Preparation

University of Massachusetts             Wildlife Biology                     B.S.     1997

Boston College                                        Curriculum and Instruction   M.Ed.   2000

 

Present Position

Ph.D. Candidate (ABD), Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA; Dissertation Advisors: Dr. D. Kroodsma and Dr. B. Byers. (Defense planned for April 2007)

 

Research Interests

      My primary interest is in animal behavior, particularly the evolution of vocal learning in birds and other animals and the evolution of different vocal learning programs.  My current research focuses on the evolution and ecology of improvisation and invention as vocal learning strategies in birds.

 

Recent Academic Positions

     (Teaching portfolio available online at www.people.umass.edu/elijah)

Teaching Assistant Mentor, Introductory Biology Laboratory I (Biology 100), Fall 2006, Univ. of Massachusetts, Supervisor: Dr. J. Goodenough.

Teaching Assistant Mentor, Introductory Biology Laboratory II (Biology 101), Spring 2005, Univ. of Massachusetts, Supervisor: Dr. J. Goodenough.

Teaching Assistant, Animal Behavior (Biology 550), Fall 2004, Univ. of Massachusetts, Instructor: Dr. J. Podos. (Nominated for a Distinguished Teaching Award.)

Graduate Grantsmanship Mentor, OEB Graduate Program, Fall-Spring 2003, Univ. of Massachusetts, Supervisor: Dr. E. Brainerd.

Teaching Assistant Mentor, Introductory Biology Laboratory (Biology 100), Fall 2003, Univ. of Massachusetts, Supervisor: Dr. E. Connor.

Biology Instructor, AP, Honors, and Regular Biology (High School), Winter Trimester 2003, Stoneleigh-Burnham School, Supervisor: B. Stinchfield.

Head Teaching Assistant, Introductory Biology Laboratory (Biology 100), Fall 2002, Univ. of Massachusetts, Supervisor: Dr. J. Goodenough.

Teaching Assistant, Introductory Biology Laboratory II (Biology 101), Spring 2002, Univ. of Massachusetts, Supervisor: Dr. J. Goodenough.

Teaching Assistant, Ecology (Biology 537), Fall 2001, Univ. of Massachusetts, Instructor: Dr. C. Edwards.

Teaching Assistant, Introductory Biology Laboratory II (Biology 101), Spring 2001, Univ. of Massachusetts, Supervisor: Dr. J. Goodenough.

Teaching Assistant, Introductory Biology Laboratory (Biology 100), Fall 2000, Univ. of Massachusetts, Supervisor: Dr. J. Goodenough.

 

Grants and Fellowships

2005          Graduate School Research Fellowship, University of Massachusetts

2003          Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, National Science Foundation, “Dissertation Research:  Testing An Ecological Hypothesis for the Evolution of Song Development in the Agelaius and Quiscalus Blackbirds (Passeriformes: Icteridae),” $11,470

2003          Graduate School Mentoring Grant, Univ. of Massachusetts, “Graduate Mentoring Program in Grantsmanship,” $9992

2002          Chapman Grant, American Museum of Natural History, “Comparative song development in Quiscalus blackbirds: testing an ecological hypothesis for the evolution of imitative and improvisational song development,” $1920

2002          Woods Hole Fellowship Grant, Univ. of Massachusetts, “Comparative song development in Quiscalus blackbirds: testing an ecological hypothesis for the evolution of imitative and improvisational song development,” $800

2002          Graduate Research Fellowship Program, National Science Foundation, Honorable Mention

2001          Exploration Fund Grant, Explorer’s Club, “Song Development in Mexican Sedge Wrens (Cistothorus platensis),” $1200

2001          Klingener Endowment, Massachusetts Museum of Natural History, “Song Development in Mexican Sedge Wrens,” $655

 

Publications

Goodwin, E.A. (in prep).  Song development varies between migratory and sedentary populations of Quiscalus.  To be submitted to Animal Behaviour.

Goodwin, E.A. (in prep).  Improvised songs developed by red-winged blackbirds in the laboratory appear to be functional vocalizations.  To be submitted to Auk.

Goodwin, E.A., T.A. Armstrong, J.A. Wells, and D.E. Kroodsma. (in review). Differences in song development between migratory and sedentary populations of the red-winged blackbird.  Submitted to Animal Behaviour.

Kroodsma, D.E., R.W. Woods, and E.A. Goodwin.  2002.  Falkland Island Sedge Wrens imitate rather than improvise large song repertoires.  Auk 119(2):523-528.

Daly, M.A. and E. Goodwin.  2002.  Attracting Purple Martins, Fact Sheet 792.  Baltimore County Cooperative Extension, University of Maryland.

 

Kroodsma, D.E., W.-C. Liu, E. Goodwin, and P.A. Bedell.  1999.  The ecology of song improvisation as illustrated by North American Sedge Wrens.  Auk 116(2):373-386.

 

Kroodsma, D.E., J. Sanchez, D.W. Stemple, E. Goodwin, M.L. Da Silva, and J.M.E. Vielliard.  1999.  Sedentary life style of Neotropical sedge wrens promotes song imitation.  Animal Behaviour 57(4):855-863.

 

Contributed and Invited Presentations

Goodwin, E.A.  2005.  The role of improvisation and invention in vocal learning.  10th Annual Bird Song Workshop, Rockefeller University Field Research Center, Millbrook, NY.

Goodwin, E.A., T.A. Armstrong, J.A. Wells, and D.E. Kroodsma.  2005.  Comparative song development in migratory versus resident red-winged blackbirds.  Annual meeting of the Animal Behavior Society, Snowbird, UT.

Goodwin, E.A.  2003.  Testing an ecological hypothesis for the evolution of song development in the Agelaius and Quiscalus blackbirds.  Annual researcher presentation for University Animal Care staff, University of Massachusetts.

 

Professional Societies

      American Ornithologists’ Union

Animal Behavior Society

 

Service to Profession and Community

Peer Reviewer, Canadian Journal of Zoology, National Research Council Canada

Peer Reviewer, The Condor, Cooper Ornithological Society

Invited Workshop Presenter, “Strategies for Effective Grading”, Campus-wide TA Orientation, Univ. of Massachusetts, Fall 2003-2006.

Graduate Student Member, Darwin Post-doctoral Fellow Search Committee, Univ. of Massachusetts, Fall 2002.

President, Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Student Association, Univ. of Massachusetts, Fall 2001- Fall 2002.