I am a wildlife and underwater cinematographer. I am also finishing an MS in applied mathematics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, working on population dynamics and ecological thresholds with Dr. Xiunan Wang.
The two have run alongside each other for most of my adult life. My background in camera work is where most of my modeling questions come from. You spend enough hours watching one animal and you can't help but start to get curious about the system as a whole.
For years, biology mostly appeared in my math classes as an example used to teach a technique: population growth and predator-prey systems in differential equations, or a logistic curve to check whether RK4 held its order. The method was always the subject.
That changed in my last semester of coursework, in a mathematical biology course with Dr. Xiunan Wang. We were using Mathematical Biology by J. D. Murray as the text. I opened it and read the table of contents; basically every chapter started with a biological question and was worked through mathematically. The one that stopped me was the last chapter in volume II: wolf territoriality - home range models for a single pack, multi-pack territorial models, wolf and deer predator-prey.
That was the first time I saw the relationship work in both directions, with the biology and the mathematics treated as equal parts of the question.
Most of what I do now is an attempt t make that way of looking at the natural world accessibe without requiring years of mathematics coursework to get there
Academic
I am completing an MS in Applied Mathematics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, expected Fall 2026, advised by Dr. Xiunan Wang. My thesis focuses on neural metwork approaches to early warning signals and their applications to epidemiological regime shifts.
My broader research is in mathematical biology and applied dynamical systems, with a growing focus on population ecology and conservation. I am particularly interested in questions where mathematical results can help explain why a population is struggling and what, if anything, can be done about it.
My current work includes developing projects in both terrestrial and marine systems examing processes such as mate availibility, hybridization, and management interventions.
Cinematography
I am also a wildlife and conservation cinematographer working primarily in Southern Appalachia and along the southeastern coast. My camera work spans natural history footage, conservation storytelling, commercial and editorial film, underwater production, and field-based imagery in freshwater, forest, spring, and coastal environments.
This work is closely tied to my broader interest in ecology. Time in the field shapes how I think about landscapes, behavior, and environmental change, while mathematical modeling gives me another way to understand the patterns I see in natural systems. Selected wildlife and underwater footage is available through NatureFootage or by direct contact.
Outreach
- Assisted East Side Elementary School’s First LEGO League robotics team in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with a project on underwater photography and filter changes.
- Presented “Finding Patterns Underwater: Photography, Light, and Geometry” at the South Florida Freediver Festival.
Endowed Graduate Award
I established the Andrew Stuckey Endowed Graduate Award in Mathematics and Environmental Science at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to provide summer research support for MS and PhD students.
The award alternates between the two departments each year. Interested students apply, and the recipient is selected by the department based on merit. When possible, preference is given to students working in mathematical biology or computational ecology.