RAVINDRA Palavalli-Nettimi
I am a post-doctoral research associate in Theobald lab at Florida International University, Miami. I am passionate about anything related to ecology, evolution, vision, brain, behaviour, visual media, and insects! I am currently investigating fruit fly vision at the limits of eye size and light levels.
I earned my Ph.D. from Macquarie University, Sydney, under the supervision of Dr. Ajay Narendra (Ecological Neuroscience group). I worked on the implications of miniaturisation in ants--with a major focus on their vision and visual navigation.
Prior to this, I worked on foraging ecology, mutualism, and social behaviours in ants and wasps at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune.
Science communication and outreach have been an integral part of my career. During my Ph.D., I volunteered with the CSIRO’s Scientists in School program--for which I received the Outstanding outreach award from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage/ the Ecological Society of Australia (2016). I also won the best student talk at ASSAB 2016 conference, Barbara Rice memorial award for the best fieldwork talk 2016, and the Australian Science Communicators grant 2017. As a multimedia editor, I hosted a podcast called 'Field Reports' for the Journal of Animal Ecology blog.
Photo credits: Wolter Peeters