May 30, 2025

The beginning of this year has been nothing short of a whirlwind. Coming off the momentum of finishing my PhD, I had lined up a PostDoc position at Colorado State University. It was the kind of opportunity I had been looking forward to for months—both professionally and personally. I was excited to continue my research, collaborate with a strong academic community, and experience life in Colorado.

However, things didn’t go as planned.

Although I had accepted the offer, the hiring process turned out to be far more time-consuming than I expected. University paperwork and federal systems seemed to move at a glacial pace. Weeks turned into months. And then, just as the final administrative steps were falling into place and I was preparing to relocate, I received devastating news: due to sweeping government budget cuts, the position I was set to fill was abruptly eliminated. The program itself had lost funding as part of broad cancellations affecting institutions nationwide.

I won’t pretend it wasn’t disheartening. I had been eager to bring my skills to Colorado, to build a new life there, and to contribute to a meaningful research project. But with that door closed, I had to regroup quickly. I began reapplying for positions that aligned with my PhD background. Unfortunately, the academic job market was even more competitive than usual, made worse by the very same funding cuts that had derailed my original PostDoc.

After submitting dozens of applications and going through several intense interview rounds, I eventually landed a new position—a PostDoc in Moscow, Idaho. It's not where I initially imagined myself, but I’m grateful for the opportunity. The research is exciting, the community seems welcoming, and I’m ready to dive into this next chapter with curiosity and resilience.

This experience has reminded me just how uncertain and unpredictable the early-career academic path can be. But it’s also reminded me that persistence matters. Even when plans fall apart, sometimes a new direction can lead to unexpected and rewarding places.

November 15,2024

I defended my Ph.D. last month and am actively looking for a job outside academia.  

If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s that the path forward is rarely clear, but it is always full of possibility.

To anyone considering or currently navigating a PhD: know that this journey is not just about the research or the title at the end—it’s about becoming the kind of person who can tackle big questions, adapt to challenges, and contribute something meaningful to the world.

Here’s to the next adventure!

April 10, 2024

I have a new publication that is part of the theme issue ‘Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'.  It is available on my publications page.

Summary:

Forest diversity is intricately linked to various species-specific processes such as regeneration, growth, competition, and mortality of trees, necessitating a comprehensive understanding for accurate prediction. Despite this, regeneration processes have often been overlooked due to their stochastic nature and the assumption that recruitment is not limiting for forests. To address this gap, our study focused on the importance of seed production and seedling survival in shaping forest diversity in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), utilizing the ForClim forest gap model. By incorporating equations for regeneration processes based on empirical data and varying parameter values in simulations, we found that adding regeneration processes into ForClim significantly improved the simulation of species composition compared to Forest Inventory Analysis data. Notably, seedling survival emerged as a more critical factor than seed production, and the duration for seedlings to grow into saplings was a key recruitment parameter for accurately capturing tree species diversity in PNW forests. However, our simulations were based solely on historical climate data, highlighting the need for future climate change simulations to include these regeneration processes to predict future forest dynamics in the PNW accurately.

September 1, 2022

I presented a NSF funded project at my first in person conference in Montreal Canada. Seed production, forests, and models. The key take away message is that seed production can influence the species composition of future forest in the Pacific Northwest. Check it out in the presentations tab!

July 5, 2022

I have a new publication on a long-term sunflower project I was a part of in Texas. Check out my publication! This one makes three! 

January 1, 2022

Domain name update.

HNLuu.com is not owned by me anymore.

HNLuu.com is now HoangLuu.com!

HoangLuu.com was my first choice last year and I'm happy that it became available when I went to update my website. Going to make a note to myself to renew domain names in the future.

HNLuu.com was made using Wix. I wanted to try another website host/builder and decided to use Google Sites for HoangLuu.com. A huge plus for me to use Google Sites is that there is no cost in using a custom domain. There is also easier monetization potential since most ad revenue is from Google. Maybe future me could make some money with this site.