Oct. 16, 2018
Mary Caswell "Cassie" Stoddard is one of 18 researchers to receive a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering from The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, targeted to innovative, early-career scientists and engineers. Stoddard studies the extraordinary diversity of signals and traits in nature. Her lab investigates the evolution of animal coloration and morphology, with a focus on birds — the most colorful terrestrial vertebrates, with tetrachromatic (four color-cone) vision and ultraviolet sensitivity. They apply an interdisciplinary approach, using optics, computer vision, field biology and bioengineering, to explore color, perception and eggshell structure in the avian world.