Rick A. Relyea is a Professor of Biology at the University of Pittsburgh and Director of the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology. He also has a strong interest in high school education. Besides helping teachers perform research in his laboratory, he conducts summer workshops for high school teachers in the fields of ecology and evolution. He also works to bring cutting-edge research experiments into high school classrooms. Professor Relyea regularly teaches courses in ecology, evolution, and animal behavior at the undergraduate and graduate level. He received a B.S. in Environmental Forest Biology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, a M.S. in Wildlife Management from Texas Tech University, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Michigan. For two decades, Relyea has conducted research on a wide range of topics including community ecology, evolution, disease ecology, and ecotoxicology. He has served on multiple scientific panels for the National Science Foundation and is an Associate Editor for the journals of the Ecological Society of America. He has authored more than 80 scientific articles and book chapters, and has presented research seminars throughout the world. In 2005, he was named the Chancellor's Distinguished Researcher at the University of Pittsburgh.