Teaching

I currently teach the following subjects at MIT:

1.018[J]: Fundamentals of Ecology

Fundamentals of ecology, considering Earth as an integrated dynamic living system. Coevolution of the biosphere and geosphere, biogeochemical cycles, metabolic diversity, primary productivity, competition and the niche, trophic dynamics and food webs, population growth and limiting factors. Population modeling, global carbon cycle, climate change, geoengineering, theories of resource competition and mutualism, allometric scaling, ecological genomics, niche theory, human population growth. Applied ecology. Co-taught with Prof. Mick Follows. Cross-listed in EAPS and Biology. [Offered Fall semesters]. 

Prof. Des Marais will no longer teach this subject after the Fall 2023 semester.

1.837: Resilience of Living Systems to Environmental Change

1.837 answers questions such as what is stress? How do plants, microbes, and animals sense and respond to stress at the cellular level? How are these small-scale processes integrated to maintain homeostasis in whole organisms? How does stress experienced by individual species or guilds affect community composition? 1.837 will consider both natural and managed ecosystems, focusing primarily on the terrestrial environment. [Offered alternate years; next offered AY25-26].

7.014: Introductory Biology
Studies the fundamental principles of biology and their application towards understanding the Earth as a dynamical system shaped by life. Focuses on molecular ecology in order to show how processes at the molecular level can illuminate macroscopic properties, including evolution and maintenance of biogeochemical cycles, and ecological interactions in ecosystems ranging from the ocean to the human gut. Includes quantitative analysis of population growth, community structure, competition, mutualism and predation; highlights their role in shaping the biosphere. Co-taught with Prof. Graham Walker. [Offered Spring semesters].

1.091: Traveling Research Environmental eXperience (TREX)
Introduction to environmental fieldwork and research, with a focus on data collection and analysis. Subject spans three weeks, including two weeks of fieldwork, and involves one or more projects central to environmental science and engineering. Location varies year-to-year, though recent projects have focused on the island of Hawaii. [Offered January term; next offered IAP 2026].

Applied Plant Biology Laboratory
Introduction to research methods in plant physiology, development, and molecular biology as they relate to challenges that plants face in a continuously varying environment. The class is project-based, introducing students to experimental design, framing hypotheses, laboratory methods, data analysis, and scientific writing. [To be first offered Fall 2025]