1. What do you study related to biodiversity (what are your research questions, what organisms do you work on)?
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 I do rapid inventory of plant species and plant communities in the remaining large areas of tropical wilderness. In contrast, I also do slow, long-term studies of tropical forest dynamics and plant populations. To make the tropical wall of green leaves more understandable, I have been developing techniques and materials to speed up the learning and identification of tropical plants.
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2. How do you study biodiversity (for example, what technological tools and methodologies do you use in your research)?
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I use variable transect methods to quickly sample as many plant communities and species as possible for rapid assessment of diversity and identification of dominant species. I use overflights, satellite imagery, and physical geography to interpret patterns of vegetation. I use standard methods to collect or photograph plant species, and digital methods to produce images for training and identification in the field.
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3. Where do you study biodiversity?
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Mainly in the extremely species-rich area of the Upper Amazon drainage of the Andean countries, but also Central America and the rest of South America, with occasional work in Southeast Asia.
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4. How might your research have implications for biological conservation?
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It helps determine which areas are most important for conservation, as well as helping to get conservation areas established and managed sensibly. It also fundamental for education at all levels on plant ecology and plant species populations in the tropics.
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5. How did you become interested in science? What made you want to be a scientist, and how did you get to The Field Museum?
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 I had parents with a love and concern for the natural world and two older brothers with a scientific interest in geology and zoology who let me tag along. I came to be at the Field Museum after careers as a professor, a free-lance tropical botanist, an ecologist for a conservation organization, and a research scientist for the Smithsonian Institution. This museum provides the best combination of outstanding tropical plant collections and a commitment to applying those resources to conservation.
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6. Describe important collaborations for your scientific endeavors (describe your work with other researchers, organizations, or scientific groups, local or indigenous peoples, etc.)
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In tropical countries, I work in collaboration with the botanists and ecologists of museums, universities, government, and private conservation organizations, as well as the staff of nature reserves and parks and members of indigenous groups. Around the world, I work in collaboration with a wide variety of other scientists and conservation biologists studying tropical forests.
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