# The Pavlic BEET Lab > Bringing Ecology and Engineering Together ## Posts - [Tips for Building Causal Questions, Hypotheses, Experimental Study Designs, and Predictions](https://pavliclab.org/tips-for-building-causal-questions-hypotheses-experimental-study-designs-and-predictions/): This post outlines the scientific process from a researcher's perspective, emphasizing the importance of observation, hypothesis formation, and experimental design to explain patterns in nature. It provides templates for crafting research questions, hypotheses, and predictions across various causal question types. The guide aims to equip researchers with tools for clear, compelling experiments. - [Wasp Deep Fakes at CV4Animals @ CVPR 2024](https://pavliclab.org/wasp-deep-fakes-at-cvpr-2024-cv4animals/): Kacy Hatfield, a Media Arts and Sciences MS student co-advised by Dr. Pavan Turaga, presented her research on "wasp deep fakes" at the CV4Animals workshop during CVPR2024. This study, a collaboration with The Tibbetts Lab at the University of Michigan, uses generative models to animate wasp faces for research on individual recognition and social interactions among paper wasps. - [A Lab Website is Born](https://pavliclab.org/a-lab-website-is-born/): The Pavlic Lab, now known as the BEET Lab, has recently launched its website after a long delay. The lab's focus extends beyond autonomy, encompassing augmented intelligence, decision support, and ecological engineering. The new identity reflects the holistic nature of the lab's work, fostering excitement for future endeavors and blog updates. ## Pages - [Research Projects](https://pavliclab.org/research-projects/) - [Join Us](https://pavliclab.org/join-us/): Interested in Being a Teaching Assistant or Grader? Unless responding to an explicit call for applications, please do not reach out to Dr. Pavlic to inquire about teaching assignments. Teaching assistantships are assigned by each school usually to PhD (and sometimes Masters) students within that school. This process is based on course demand and the availability of funds for these positions, and this process is largely outside of the control of the instructors. If you are interested in joining the lab’s research activities, the best thing to do is reach out to Dr. Pavlic (preferably over e-mail) and discuss. Below is some […] - [Home](https://pavliclab.org/): Welcome to the Pavlic BEET Lab! In our lab, we recognize that there are much deeper connections between ecological and engineering thinking than traditional disciplinary silos formally represent, and we believe that both areas will benefit from bringing engineering and ecology closer together. Although suites of technologies are now frequently referred to as “ecosystems”, designers, engineers, and computer scientists are not currently trained in ecosystem thinking. Engineers are trained to design general-purpose systems that are robust to environmental variation whereas ecologists, in contrast, specialize in complex interconnections where component function (or its limits) strongly depends on community composition and environmental context. […] - [Privacy Policy](https://pavliclab.org/privacy-policy/): Who we are This website is meant to disseminate information about the Bringing Ecology and Engineering Together (BEET) laboratory of Dr. Theodore P. Pavlic. Example kinds of information that are found on this lab web page include lab member research results, news about the lab, information on how to connect with lab members, information about how to join the lab, and perspectives from lab members about science and engineering topics relevant to lab research areas. The primary BEET Lab web address is https://pavliclab.org; however, variants such as https://pavliclab.com and https://beetlab.org may also be used. Embedded content from other websites Articles on […] - [Publications](https://pavliclab.org/publications/): A representative sample of publications from the lab are listed below, grouped into categories to help provide context for their contribution. For a more complete and up-to-date list, see the PI’s Google Scholar page. Life and Social Sciences Animal Behavior: Collective Decision-Making/Intelligence Burchill, A.T., T.P. Pavlic, S.C. Pratt, and C.R. Reid. Weaver ants regulate the rate of prey delivery during collective vertical transport. Journal of Experimental Biology (IF=3.2), 226(19):jeb245634. 2023. doi:10.1242/jeb.245634 Navas Zuloaga, M.G., K.M. Baudier, J.H. Fewell, N. Ben-Asher, T.P. Pavlic, and Y. Kang. A Modeling Framework for Adaptive Collective Defense: Crisis Response in Social-Insect Colonies. Journal of Mathematical Biology (IF=2.0), 87:87. 2023. […] - [Blog](https://pavliclab.org/blog/): Browse By: Latest Posts Browse By: - [About the PI](https://pavliclab.org/about-the-pi/): Lab Director Dr. Theodore (Ted) P. Pavlic transitioned through his career from software engineering to analog hardware circuit design to control theory and optimization to animal behavioral ecology. He currently directs a multi-disciplinary laboratory at Arizona State University, where he is an Associate Professor. His teaching portfolio includes courses in Sustainability, Systems Thinking, Genetics, Optimization Metaheuristics, Simulation, and more. - [Lab Collaborators](https://pavliclab.org/lab-collaborators/): The lab engages in extensive and diverse collaborations with faculty, students, and postdocs from various institutions. Collaborations with faculty involve sponsored research, joint manuscripts, and student mentoring. Non-lab student and postdoctoral collaborations contribute significantly, and the lab also has affiliations with centers and organizations for interdisciplinary connections and potential future collaborations. - [Lab Alumni](https://pavliclab.org/lab-alumni/): The lab takes pride in its former students and postdocs. Example alumni include Dr. Taeyeong Choi, now an assistant professor at Kennesaw State University, and Dr. Kaitlin Baudier, currently directing the Baudier Lab of Social Insect Science at the University of Southern Mississippi. Lab alumni have made significant contributions to various fields after their time at the lab. - [Lab Members](https://pavliclab.org/lab-members/): This content details the current members of a research lab, including PhD students, Masters students, and undergraduate students. The PhD students are studying topics such as optimization, deep learning, animal behavior, and smart mobility. The Bachelors students in the lab are involved in various research projects. - [Contact](https://pavliclab.org/contact/): Our highly interdisciplinary lab includes members across several different academic programs and locations on campus. The contact information below is for the lab’s principal investigator, Dr. Theodore (Ted) Pavlic. Email: tpavlic AT asu DOT edu Office Locations (by appointment): BYENG 314 (SCAI Office)ISTB1 318 (SOLS Office)ECD 120/130 (Lab) Phone (strongly discouraged): Office: +1-480-965-2899 (voicemail only)Fax: +1-480-965-2751 USPS Mailing Address (no unsolicited mail): Theodore PavlicASU – SCAIP.O. Box 878809 – Room 553Tempe, AZ 85287-8809 Shipping Address (UPS, FedEx, etc.): Theodore PavlicASU – SCAI699 S. Mill Avenue – Room 553Tempe, AZ 85281 Units (joint appointment): - [Research Vision](https://pavliclab.org/research-vision/): In our lab, we recognize that there are much deeper connections between ecological and engineering thinking than traditional disciplinary silos formally represent, and we believe that both areas will benefit from bringing engineering and ecology closer together. Both of these broad areas take a systems-thinking approach that embraces dynamics, complexity, and interconnectedness. Engineers have a strong understanding for the practicalities of how to build functional, interconnected systems and have significant quantitative tools to facilitate realistic design problems, but they often take the approach that the environment is something to be buffered against. Ecologists, however, are trained to use tools that characterize […] ## Optional - [Agent (MCP protocol)](websites-agents.hostinger.com/pavliclab.org/mcp) [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)