Paige Kouba, PhD

I'm a forest ecophysiology time-traveler: I study how past and future forests interact with their environments. My research uses tree rings and elevated CO2  experiments,  and my work is enriched by collaborations with scientists from many different disciplines and career stages.

I completed my PhD in Ecology at UC Davis in 2024, focusing on how climate and fire shape California forests from leaves to landscapes. Last year I worked at UC Santa Cruz, in the NSF-funded FUTURE project on field-based ecology education—I'm particularly interested in how community-building affects experiences for underrepresented students in STEM. I've been Instructor of Record for three undergraduate ecology courses of 100+ students, and I'm always eager to share my excitement about teaching and learning. 

I'm currently working at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences with Drs. Emma Holmström and Urban Nilsson, exploring how thinning treatments affect growth and moose browsing in managed boreal forests. This summer, I'll join the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at the University of New Brunswick, as an Assistant Professor in Plant Ecophysiology.

How to pronounce my name: page (like in a book); koba (rhymes w/ Ginkgo biloba)