Using mathematical models to explain plant community structures

If you have any preconceived notions of what a mathematician is supposed to sound like, perhaps based on representation from the media, a chat with Kenny Jops will have you thinking otherwise. Witty conversation, unfeigned curiosity, and deadpan humor are the trademarks of Jops, a graduate candidate in the Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior program at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who currently studies the math underlying plant communities.