West named ECCB Associate Department Head

Jason West, Ph.D. was named the Associate Department Head for the Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology. West assumed his role in October and now provides the department with leadership in administration of our academic programs and assist the Department Head and staff with other administrative duties. West will also work closely with the Undergraduate and Graduate Program committees to prepare for the initial cohort of students under the new department.

“I am very excited and grateful to have Jason assume this important role for our department” Kirk Winemiller, Interim Department Head, said of West’s appointment. “He is already doing a great job for us.

West is an associate professor in Ecology and Conservation Biology, with expertise in plant physiological ecology and ecosystem ecology. He obtained a B.S. degree in Range Science from Utah State University and a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Georgia and was previously a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. He served as research faculty at the University of Utah in the Department of Biology, before coming to Texas A&M University.

West oversees research in the West Lab Group, which generally falls in the broad domain of terrestrial ecology, with an emphasis on how the physiology and growth of plants interact with other components of ecological systems.