My primary interest is understanding how organisms respond developmentally to environmental signals, and how and why these responses evolve as populations have adapted or will adapt to changing environmental conditions. I run a small to medium sized lab primarily funded by NSF grants, and to gain integrative understanding of our chosen foci, our work embraces a wide range of techniques from detailed studies of molecular mechanisms to genomic studies of archaeological samples to large field experiments. I started at UCB in January 2016 after 3.5 years as junior faculty at UVA, and I was awarded tenure in Fall 2020. My career has taken me to many public and private institutions in the US (CA, IN, NC, VA) and I recently spent an 8-month sabbatical at two institutions in Europe. I have also designed and taught courses at several levels (large intro class, upper div undergrad elective, and graduate seminar/core courses). I have held several committee level leadership positions in my department and in my scientific societies.
For full research description, please visit Benjamin's Faculty Profile.
evolution, adaptation, domestication, phenotypic plasticity, flowering time, evo-devo, genomics, plant biology
