Faculty
Associate Professor Peter Wainwright joined the Section of Evolution and Ecology in January 1999. He studies the vertebrate skull to understand how complex muscle-skeletal systems evolve. Wainwright focuses primarily on the fish skull, a system he says "exhibits a stunning diversity of form and function." According to Wainwright, his research aims "to identify major unifying themes in how this complex system of muscles and bones is modified during evolution to produce diversity in
design, prey-capture ability, and feeding ecology." Wainwright came to UC Davis from Florida State University where he had been since 1991. The courses Wainwright taught at Florida State included cadaver-based anatomy for first-year medical students. In 1994, he received the George Bartholomew Award for excellence in comparative physiology from the American Society of Zoologists. Wainwright
received his bachelor's degree in zoology in 1980 from Duke University, N.C., and his Ph.D. in anatomy from the University of Chicago in 1988.
Alan Stemler, professor of plant biology, received a 1998-99 UC Davis Outstanding Faculty Adviser award. Students nominate faculty members for the award, which is given to one faculty member from each college or division.