Profile

• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  Thermo Fisher Scientific

  
  
• Employment Status

  Industry / Private Company

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  My scientific research interests vary--I like studying different types of things! I have studied microbes that cause disease, as well as microbes that live in the soil around plants. In the past, my students took sediments from a swamp and explored the microbes that lived in the different layers. I recently worked with university students to research, design, and plant a garden with plants that have traditionally been used as medicines in the Appalachian Mountains of the Eastern United States.
  
  For teams interested in the new module on plant diseases--I have a lot of experience with microbiology that would be relevant

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

  My favorite plant is the Southern Magnolia tree. I love the shininess of the leaves, the shape of the flowers, and most importantly, the lemony scent of the blooms. When I was in high school, I had to prepare a project in English class about a flower, and I chose the magnolia. I discovered a famous painter who captured its beauty (Martin Johnson Heade) and have enjoyed these images ever since.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  When and why did you decide to go into a science career?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):

  When I was younger, I loved to explore outside. I had a small book with ideas for experiments. I still remember trying one out where I put water and soil in a 2 L soda bottle, shook it up, and let the different layers settle. I could see all the different types of things inside. When I was in high school, my advanced biology teacher always went above and beyond to find cool new things to show us. She even brought in a flower that smelled like rotting meat to attract flies that would pollinate it. She is the reason I selected Biology in particular for my career.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  What is best about being a scientist?

  
  
• Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):

  The best thing about being a scientist is to discover new things that no one in the whole world ever knew before. You are an explorer!

  
  
• Help represent the outreach efforts of your societies. Please click all those organizations you are a member of:

  (not set)

  
  
• Availability

  I am NOT available, please temporarily remove me from the available mentor list

  
  
• Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

mhsmirandafall2022 project 4 Catherine Vrentas Nov 1, 2022

Hi team, thanks for the updates! 

It sounds like you are seeing the color changes across all of the plants, and not just one. 

In terms of thinking about the colors of light, what properties of the plant, or processes inside of the…

more

Hi team, thanks for the updates! 

It sounds like you are seeing the color changes across all of the plants, and not just one. 

In terms of thinking about the colors of light, what properties of the plant, or processes inside of the plant, do you think that the light might affect?

mhsmirandafall2022 project 10 Catherine Vrentas Oct 27, 2022

Hi team!

I think the Google Docs link has been removed, but I wanted to make sure that I responded to your written observations!  Thank you for the clarification about how the seeds were planted.

Now that the seeds have emerged from the…

more

Hi team!

I think the Google Docs link has been removed, but I wanted to make sure that I responded to your written observations!  Thank you for the clarification about how the seeds were planted.

Now that the seeds have emerged from the soil, have they cleared the debris?  What effects do you think the debris may have had earlier in the plant growth?

Something else to think about is whether different types of seeds might experience different outcomes.  For example--do you think all types of seedlings would be able to emerge through the debris--why or why not?

Thanks so much for continuing to share your results, team! :)

mhsmirandafall2022 project 4 Catherine Vrentas Oct 22, 2022

Hi team, thanks for the detailed updates! I appreciate how you added details about some of the other characteristics of the plants. Do you notice any differences in plant color?

 

As we start to think about what might cause…

more

Hi team, thanks for the detailed updates! I appreciate how you added details about some of the other characteristics of the plants. Do you notice any differences in plant color?

 

As we start to think about what might cause differences, what do scientists know about the types of light that are important to plants, and how might this information relate to your experiment?