Eliot Bush

Eliot Bush is a professor of computational biology and evolution at Harvey Mudd College. His interest in these areas developed gradually. As a young person he seemed headed for a career in journalism, or perhaps history. But in college he discovered evolution (and natural history!), and in graduate school realized he could have fun using computers to study it. Since then, he’s worked on a wide range of research projects. Among other things he’s used CT scans to study a 35-million-year-old primate fossil, modeled the evolution of metabolism, and built computational tools to identify horizontal transfer events in bacteria. He’s also co-author of two textbooks, and his writing for a popular audience has appeared in Scientific American among other places. He lives in the suburbs of Los Angeles where he plays ultimate frisbee, rides his mountain bike around the local hills, and bakes things for his family. He’s also a fan of travel, especially the type that involves going and living someplace. Over the years he’s spent stints in Turkey, Russia, and Taiwan among other places.