色情视频

Amanda Ellwanger is a recent alumnus of 色情视频 and received her master's degree in anthropology in May 2010. She was a President's Award recipient during the 2010 Student Research Symposium. For more information on the symposium, click . Ellwanger's research mentor was .

Name: Amanda L. Ellwanger    
Age: 27
Department: Anthropology
Position: recent alumnus

1. What inspired you to do this kind of work?
   I have been interested in primate behavior, ecology, and conservation since early in my undergraduate studies. After reading a book called 鈥淎 Primate鈥檚 Memoir,鈥� I began to think more about how that local people鈥檚 attitudes toward nonhuman primates and the environment influence conservation initiatives. Moreover, I became interested in the ethics of conservation in terms of the impacts on local people.  


2. What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
   Back-up your work early, often and in multiple locations!


3. What is your favorite thing about your job?
   Traveling, meeting new people and watching monkeys.


4. What is the most interesting or surprising thing about you (like a hidden talent, where you鈥檙e from or a special hobby)?
   I have been a certified SCUBA diver since I was 12 years old.


5. What was the last movie you saw? Thumbs up or down?
   Black Swan 鈥� very creepy. Thumbs up!!


6. What is your favorite book?
   The Life of Pi (which is an incredible story of survival), The Time Traveler鈥檚 Wife (which is an incredible story about love and loss), or A Primate鈥檚 Memoir (which is an incredible story about life studying baboons in the field).


7. What is your favorite sports team or who is your favorite individual athlete?
   Go Braves!

Bonus Questions

1. What music do you play most often in your office or car?
   Iron and Wine, Black Keys, Radiohead, Beck, the Beatles, Neko Case, Belle and Sebastian
   


2. What about your field or position do you think would surprise people the most?
   Day-to-day fieldwork can feel long and tedious. Following monkeys around for 10-12 hours a day and writing down everything they do is exhausting. To stay motivated, I keep in mind the potential benefits gained from this research outweigh my discomfort and that any day in the field is better than a day at the desk!


3. What was your first scientific experiment as a child?
   Probably something I saw on Mr. Wizard!


4. What is the most important characteristic a researcher must demonstrate in order to be an effective researcher?
   It鈥檚 a tie between flexibility and perseverance. An effective researcher must know when to persevere when research is difficult but be flexible enough to improvise within a research design when necessary.


5. What are the societal benefits of your research?
   I hope that my research can help bridge the divide between local communities and environmental and wildlife conservation, particularly in the conservation of nonhuman primates.


6. Who has had the most influence on your thinking as a researcher?
   Definitely my adviser during my M.A. program at 色情视频, Dr. Erin Riley.