Miles Robertson: exemplary in interdisciplinary ecology
Miles Robertson is a graduating mathematics/statistics (composite) and biology major leaving Utah State University at the beginning of May. He will be leaving Utah to study with former USU professor, Michael Cortez — specializing in mathematical modeling for ecology — at Florida State University.
He received a grant from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) after participating in a summer program with Professor Jim Powell, head of USU’s USU’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics.
Ecology, Robertson believes, is “inherently multi-faceted,” meaning that everything he has studied in school can contribute to his work in ecology. He believes that he needs to be well-equipped with various understandings of math, biology, and technology in order to master a subject that does require knowledge from different scientific fields such as weather, plant life, animal life, and paleoclimatology (the study of past climates).
“All the while, I think the increasing importance of computing power is something that is essential to take advantage of if we want to keep up with the kind of climate changes that we’re seeing.”
Robertson will also be graduating with minors in computer science and anticipatory intelligence, which he says are integral to helping him build an approach to his future work.
“The Anticipatory Intelligence minor helps me identify the things that are most pressing for the world and shed the stuff that’s exciting to hear, but things that policymakers aren’t necessarily going to do anything about. I want to limit my message to the most important stuff, and that minor helps me do that.”
Robertson emphasizes the positive experiences he has had during his time as a USU undergraduate and says he wants to make sure students of USU know why he loved the school so much.
“USU has a really good feeling to it. I think it is a really good size — not too big, not too small. There are a lot of professors that really care about their jobs and really care about teaching, which is really important to me.”
Robertson felt accepted and opened up to the USU community even during the coronavirus pandemic. He was able to feel connected to the community while feeling safe at the same time. He praises USU’s efforts from the students and faculty as they do the best they can with state and national restrictions
“I think, even through Covid, the general community that USU is responded pretty well to that and I felt like I was able to connect while being safe.”
Robertson’s tips to undergraduates wanting to pursue an undergraduate degree include making connections with professors. Talk to them in their offices outside of class time, ask them to use their labs, try to stand out, and make them see you.
Following the influence of his professors, Robertson believes that in order to have a more positive influence on the world he has to influence others. He wants to help young minds achieve their goals and become their better selves.
“I think I want to give people self-confidence. That’s a big goal for me, and I think I can do that…want to help people feel like they’re capable.”
He wants to perform research to help with the discussion of climate change and other harmful human practices. He believes in self-awareness and being aware of his privilege while helping other people to make the world a better place.
“I think that if I am able to teach others to understand through my research then I’ll have a much bigger influence on the world for the better, than if I tried to do something all by myself.”
We wish him the best of luck as he moves on to work for his doctorate in ecology under the wing of Professor Cortez.
Megan Cowdell is a freshman opinion columnist studying for a bachelor’s in Communications. She loves music, reading and wants to write books for a living.
megan.cowdell@usu.edu