Position
Assistant Director, STEM Education
Office Phone
Office
Peter B. Lewis Library, Room 232
Education

Ph.D. Zoology, Colorado State University

Teaching Certificate, The Institute of Learning and Teaching, Colorado State University

B.S. Biology with minors in Chemistry and Psychology, The College of New Jersey

Bio/Description

Craig holds a Ph.D. in Zoology from Colorado State University, a B.S. in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Psychology from The College of New Jersey, and a Teaching Certificate from The Institute of Learning and Teaching at Colorado State University. Prior to earning his doctorate, Craig served as a Research Specialist for the undergraduate teaching laboratories in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) at Princeton. In this position, he played a fundamental role in the design, testing, and oversight of undergraduate laboratory instruction for introductory and upper-division EEB courses.

Craig has taught and guest-lectured for several courses at the university level, including Introductory Biology, Ecology, Evolution, Tropical Ecology, Stream Ecology, Animal Physiology, and Advanced Fish Eco-Physiology. In addition to teaching in the classroom, Craig has also been involved in extensive curriculum development. He uses research-based approaches to inform curriculum-wide changes that aim to increase student engagement and retention.

His scientific research interests lie at the interface of physiology, ecology, and evolution within freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. More specifically, he is interested in how freshwater ecosystems will be affected by climate change both directly (i.e., temperature changes) and indirectly (i.e., salinity fluctuation/infiltration). His previous work explored the role of plasticity and adaptation in shaping distributional patterns of two closely related euryhaline fishes on the island of Trinidad. To better understand why salinity acts as a barrier to dispersal in one species, but not the other, he employed an integrative, eco-physiological approach to determine the effect of increased salinity on aerobic capacity, swimming performance, plasma osmolality, and cortisol exertion.     

Craig possesses a strong passion for teaching, pedagogy, research, and mentorship in the classroom and in the lab/field. As an Assistant Director of STEM Education at CST, he will employ current pedagogical understanding and innovative inquiry-based techniques to help faculty craft effective, engaging, and inclusive learning experiences and will use similar practices to develop and teach new courses that integrate STEM fields with the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In doing so, he hopes to appeal to a broad and diverse audience to engage students from various backgrounds while making STEM-based courses more accessible to all. Moreover, Craig will foster new and existing interdepartmental collaborations at Princeton and beyond to enhance learning experiences and increase educational opportunities and programs for all members of our Princeton community.