Assistant Professor, Odum School of Ecology
Odum School of Ecology, Wildlife & Water Lab Website
Dr. van Rees is a conservation scientist and naturalist combining research and nature interpretation to change how we manage, protect, and relate to the natural world. His research is based on an applied and results-oriented approach, borrowing tools and concepts from diverse disciplines to inform policy and management for biodiversity conservation in the real world. Van Rees received his undergraduate degree at the Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology at Connecticut College, then attended Tufts University for his PhD while completing an NSF IGERT traineeship in Water Diplomacy. Following his PhD, he received a Fulbright Early Career Scholar award to conduct research in Seville, Spain on flooding impacts on waterbird movements. He joined UGA as a postdoctoral researcher at the River Basin Center and is now an Assistant Research Scientist at the Odum School of Ecology, and remains an affiliate researcher of both the River Basin Center and the Institute for Resilient Infrastructure Systems.