30-second bio: Rebecca Tyson

Name:

Rebecca Tyson

My preferred pronouns:

she/her/hers

Title:

Professor

Department/Unit:

Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

Location:

Okanagan

Year I started working at UBC:

2005

Describe what you do at UBC in 10 words or less:

I study how populations grow and disperse in complex landscapes.

What is the best thing about your work/role at UBC?

The part of my work that I love the best is working with my research students, who range from undergraduates to PhD students and postdoctoral research associates. I also very much enjoy working with colleagues at UBCO and around the world on mutually interesting research questions. I am continually grateful to be working in a position where I have the freedom to be curious.

What is your favourite quote and why?

One of my favourite quotes is from a poem by Dennis Lee: "Sometimes my mind is crazy, sometimes my mind is dumb, sometimes it sings like angel wings and beeps till kingdom come." It captures the difficulties and excitement of doing research, indeed, of tackling problems in any environment where novel solutions are needed!

What do you do regularly to invest in your mental and/or physical health?

I am a trail runner in the summertime, and a cross-country skier in the winter. For me there is no better place to restore mental balance and a sense of perspective than out in the wilderness. We have access to so much beautiful wilderness here in the Okanagan - it is a real treasure to be protected.