Kat Weaver

Kat Weaver
Kat Weaver, assistant professor of biology, enjoys investigating the world around her, whether wielding a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) certified scuba diving license undersea, or a driver’s license across the roads of the western United States.
“Being under the ocean is so much more interesting than seeing it from the surface,” Weaver says.
Vibrant snail and flower portraits decorate her walls, one example of her scientific interests.
As a child she remembers chemistry and biology kits providing hours of fun and contributing to her lifelong interest in the sciences. Weaver’s a biologist at heart, which is why she enjoys investigating various ecosystems, life forms and secluded landmarks across the U.S. and abroad through camping and hiking adventures with her husband of two years, Pablo, and her chocolate lab, Sienna.
“I really like taking driving trips to see the western United States; exploring, hiking and camping in places secluded from the rest of the world,” Weaver says.
Weaver and her husband met during graduate school at the University of Colorado and now work together; he is currently the biology department laboratory manager at ULV. They also recently purchased a home in Chino Hills.
“I wanted a job at a small school where I could have a lot of contact with students,” Weaver says.
Weaver dreamed of building spaceships as an aeronautical engineer as a child, but discovered that physics was not her strong suit. Later she joined a scuba diving class with her father. Diving lessons began in a pool and then progressed to the ocean where she developed a fascination with the undersea world.
Ultimately she changed her major at the University of California, Berkeley, from chemistry to biology to pursue a growing interest in ocean systems.
“If you have any interest in the ocean, you should do it,” Weaver says of scuba diving.
An animal lover, her favorite sea creature is the Blacktip reef shark. Though they are feared by many, she admires the species for its graceful beauty.
“I was probably the only kid who would choose Sea World over Disneyland,” Weaver says.
Weaver says she caught the teaching bug early on. Elementary school summer vacations were spent teaching physical education and science in her mother’s classrooms. Weaver also taught at the middle school level for two years before she decided to become a college professor. She went on to earn her doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology.
Weaver became interested in malacology, the study of mollusks (invertebrates), which includes such species as snails, slugs, mussels, squid and octopus, while working on a research project with a professor during her undergraduate years. She also spent a semester abroad, visiting the Island of Moorea in the French Polynesia, where she studied Christmas tree worms. Other research interests include genetics, niche modeling and evolution.
“I got the chance to work on a fossil assemblage from Alaska that had scallops, mussels, etc.,” Weaver says. “I really found it interesting.”
She continued to pursue this interest through dissertation work, which chronicled the biogeography of invertebrates in the phylum Mollusca. Much of her research has been geared toward the study of Oreohelix and Sonorella snail life and she is now an expert in Oreohelix.
“I am interested in looking at the impact of climate change on the distribution of organisms,” Weaver says. “Snails are a great group to look at that since they don't move around much.”
She also enjoys exploring her creative side by scrapbooking, painting, making jewelry and experimenting with amateur photography.
Her courses are inquiry based, allowing many opportunities for questions, demonstrations and “cooperative learning.”
“I study genetics and evolution in snails and compare DNA sequences to construct evolutionary biogeography,” Weaver says, explaining her malacology research. “I would love to keep doing what I’m doing—research, teaching—I’m actually doing what I have always wanted to do with my life.”

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Kat Weaver

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