Profile

• Time Zone

  Central

  
  
• Organization

  Northwestern University

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  Many living things have lost their homes as people have built building and roads. My research looks into ways that we can use special rooftop gardens, called green roofs, to give some homes back to plants and animals that can live alongside people in cities.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  As a scientist, I get to make new discoveries and learn new things about plants, insects, and ecology. It's really exciting! Since I started to learn more about plants I have been able to meet other scientists from all over the world and share ideas and learn from their experiences too. I find it really fun to learn new things all the time, especially since I get to study plants in the city where I live. It helps me to appreciate the nature that is all around us.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is tough about being a scientist?

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

  In science, things don't always work out the way you planned. Sometimes I spend a lot of time planning an experiment and maybe it just doesn't work or maybe the results are really confusing. This past summer I spent a lot of time setting up an experiment on a rooftop and when I came back later, some birds had destroyed the whole thing! It can be very frustrating when your plans don't work out but as a scientist, you have to be very flexible and ready to change your plans or ideas whenever you run into problems.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  There are many plants that I love but one of my favorites is called Nodding Onion, or Allium cernuum if you are using the correct scientific Latin name. This plant grows in fields in northern Illinois where I am from and it is also really good at growing on green roofs. It is from the same plant family and the onions that we eat and it has really pretty flowers that remind me of fireworks.

  
  
• Availability

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

  
  
• In addition to English, I am comfortable communicating with students in the following languages:

  German

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

Alfa Group Kelly Ksiazek-Mikenas Nov 21, 2016

Hi Busy, 
I'm glad that you got the video! You're welcome. If you have any questions about the plants that I study or about what you're learning in class, just let me know. I'm happy to answer them. 

What did you do in…

more

Hi Busy, 
I'm glad that you got the video! You're welcome. If you have any questions about the plants that I study or about what you're learning in class, just let me know. I'm happy to answer them. 

What did you do in class last week? 

Alfa Group Kelly Ksiazek-Mikenas Nov 17, 2016

Hi team!
I hope you're having a good week and learning a lot about plants! I'm excited to hear more about what you've learned this week. 

I've been busy with some of my research. I'm currently working on a paternity…

more

Hi team!
I hope you're having a good week and learning a lot about plants! I'm excited to hear more about what you've learned this week. 

I've been busy with some of my research. I'm currently working on a paternity study. It basically works the same for plants as with people. I have a bunch of "baby plants" that I grew from seeds I collected from "mom" plants. I'm looking at the baby plants' DNA to figure out who their dads are. The reason for this is I want to know if the dad plants' sperm (which is in pollen) is carried by bees from one green roof to another. My hypothesis is that the bees can carry the pollen between all the green roofs. If my hypothesis is supported, this is good news for green roof plants because it means that they are mating with lots of other plants, not just their own relatives on the same roofs.

That's just a little bit about one of my experiments. I'm interested to hear about yours too.

I tried to send Ms. Rehak a video to say hello to you guys too. Hopefully you got it.

Have a good rest of the week!  

Alfa Group Kelly Ksiazek-Mikenas Nov 15, 2016

Yes, you got it! Nice job on explaining these processes. It sounds like you are learning a lot. 

Some plants can break down the CO2 into carbon and oxygen faster than others. Part of my research is looking at which types of plants can use…

more

Yes, you got it! Nice job on explaining these processes. It sounds like you are learning a lot. 

Some plants can break down the CO2 into carbon and oxygen faster than others. Part of my research is looking at which types of plants can use the carbohydrates to grow faster than other types of plants on green roofs. Green roofs are pretty stressful habitats for plants because they are really hot and sunny and they have very little water. 

Are you guys designing an experiment in class? What questions do you have about plants, photosynthesis and cellular respiration?