Rob Van Kirk
Year Graduated: 
1984
Senior Scientist
Henry's Fork Foundation

Job description

I direct the science and technology program at a regional nonprofit fisheries and water conservation organization. Our program has four departments: hydrology and water management, water quality and stream ecology, fisheries biology, and economics and social science. I supervise two full-time employees, two graduate students, and six undergraduate interns. Other staff in our organization contribute pieces of their time to the science and technology program. Our science and technology products inform conservation and management of aquatic resources in the upper Snake River basin.

Why did you choose this program?

I pursued a mathematics degree because I loved math and received the excellent advice that fundamental training in applied mathematics would allow me to pursue research in any of the physical or biological sciences. For the same reason, I also earned an M.S. Environmental Systems at HSU, with an emphasis in mathematical modeling.

How did this program prepare you for your job?

Degrees in mathematics and mathematical modeling provided me with the skills, knowledge, and critical-thinking ability to learn about and work in a variety of disciplines ranging from statistics to population dynamics to hydrology. Experience gained while teaching mathematics at HSU as a graduate student contributed to development of my communications skills and desire to teach and mentor young professionals I supervise.

What did you enjoy most about the program?

I enjoyed the personal interactions with faculty and other students made possible by the small size of the mathematics department. My larger HSU experience was enhanced by taking courses in complementary subjects such as biology, fisheries, physics, and natural resources. I apply mathematics and statistics to those subjects and use the background gained in all of my HSU science and mathematics courses on a daily basis.

What would you say to prospective students who are thinking about applying to this program?

A mathematics degree opens the door to a very wide variety of career choices, most of which are unknown to you when you take your first college mathematics course. Not only is mathematics a rich and beautiful subject on its own, it is the language of science. Learning to speak that language is what opens these doors.

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