Matt joined the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment in 2007. He graduated from College of the Atlantic with a BA in Human Ecology, earned a MS in zoology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a PhD in genetics at the University of Georgia. His graduate training in evolutionary and conservation genetics connected his field biology experience with research harnessing the power of DNA to inform us about population biology and evolutionary history. With a focus on aquatic population management and restoration, Matt utilizes genetic markers to measure processes such gene flow, hybridization and genetic changes from hatchery-based population supplementation. Matt also uses population genomics to investigate adaptive processes in organisms with a focus on conditions promoting rapid evolution.
Matt served on the curriculum committee for precursor cross-departmental environmental majors since 2012, chairing the ESS Curriculum Committee from 2016-2018 until its conversion to the cross-college E&S, where he continued to serve on the curriculum committee as chair of the Environmental Biology and Applied Ecology concentration until becoming director of the major. As director, Matt promotes curricular development that maintains the unique blend of a balanced interdisciplinary core within E&S, concentrations that promote deep training or innovative bridging, and experiences such as internships and a capstone course that prepare students for integrative work experiences.
Matt is a member of the graduate fields in Natural Resources, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and Zoology & Wildlife Conservation. He is a Fellow in the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and a member of the Cornell Center for Computational and Population Genomics.
Areas of Expertise
- Conservation genetics
- Evolutionary genomics
- Phylogeography
- Marine biology
