Andrew Forbes is associate chair and professor in the Biology department, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. His research includes evolutionary ecology and insect diversity.
Tell us about your hometown; how did it shape you?
I grew up in Twickenham, England and emigrated to the suburbs of Philadelphia when I was 10. Perhaps as a consequence of moving at that age, I don't feel particularly rooted to either place - though I admit to a weakness for regional foods from both places, including cheesesteaks, scrapple, pork pies, and cheese and onion Hula Hoop crisps. Iowa City feels more like my hometown than anywhere else (and you can get scrapple at the Waterfront Hy-Vee!).
Tell us about your hobbies/outside interests.
Biking and hiking are both fun. I used to play soccer; I don't have the knees for it anymore but still like to watch it. I also like sad, realistic, character-driven films and TV shows and I have always been big into reading. I've lately become a bit obsessed with trying to grow native plants in our yard to try to attract diverse species of insects. There are some fantastic perennials that I've been able to get established like Culver's Root, Rattlesnake Master, and Royal Catchfly, and it has been fun watching the pollinators and other insects show up.
What is your favorite hang out place?
Our screened-in porch at home.
Can you share a recent book/movie/performance that you found compelling and why?
I recently read "The Lager Queen of Minnesota" by J. Ryan Stradal, and I was shocked by how much it resonated with me. It's about two estranged sisters, living their separate lives, getting older, and trying to do what they think is right. I can't put my finger on exactly why I liked it so much - it made me happy and sad and I enjoyed it very much.
What attracted you to the University of Iowa?
I'm one half of a classic academic "two-body problem" (along with Tori Forbes, professor of Chemistry and director of MATFab). When we were on the job market, we worried about whether we'd be able to live and work in the same place because the subject of a spousal accommodation was often a conversation killer with potential employers. Iowa (perhaps recognizing that nerds often marry nerds) was one of the places willing to try to make that work, and arranged an interview for me as her "trailing spouse." We also used to stop here on road trips between grad school and Tori's childhood home in Nebraska to walk our dog and load up on craft beer from John's Grocery, so we knew Iowa City had some good things going for it. That perhaps tipped the balance toward our ultimate decision.
How would you explain to a child what you do?
I study bugs!
What is the best advice you received as a student and do you still follow that advice today?
Don't live to work; work to live. I try not to have my career as a scientist and academic define who I am as a person. There are a lot of rejections in this job, and it is easy for those to feel personal and really bring you down. Trying to create an emotional separation between work and life has been useful for me (though it's not always easy!).
Tell us about a project or achievement of which you are particularly proud.
This was not just me, but I was proud to be a part of a faculty group that successfully pushed for changes to the CLAS rules for assessment and grading. I am increasingly convinced that traditional grading systems don't promote student learning, and I'm happy that the changes that were recently passed offer faculty more flexibility and guidance for alternative assessment strategies. These changes will do a lot of good for a lot of students.
How do you see your work impacting your field?
My lab studies insect diversity, especially focused on parasitic wasps. I think we've already done a lot of good work showing how new insect species originate, and we've shown that many groups of wasps have a lot more species in them than previously thought. I suspect we'll keep digging into these same areas for a few more years here, and I'll be especially excited to see some more of my students going on to start their own careers.
What piece of advice would you give to today's students?
Work hard, take chances, and try to be nice to people when you can manage it.