Dr. Kandlikar earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and his Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Los Angeles. His dissertation, which focused on the coexistence among annual plant species in California grasslands, combined mathematical models and field and greenhouse experiments. His studies have been published in The Journal of Ecology, Ecology Letters, Journal of Tropical Ecology, and The American Naturalist.

He has taught a graduate course on teaching in the life sciences and has been invited to lecture in undergraduate courses on plant biology, biodiversity, and environmental soil microbiology at UCLA. He also established “Hacky Hours,” a weekly peer-networking program to teach coding and informatics to graduate students. He has demonstrated his dedication to contributing to inclusion and diversity in STEM fields throughout his career by mentoring young scientists from diverse backgrounds both at his home institution and through the Ecological Society of America’s SEEDS program.

Dr. Kandlikar is excited to apply his approach of integrating empirical data with rigorous theoretical and statistical models to the dynamics that shape plant communities in Missouri prairies, glades, and forest ecosystems.