Profile

• Time Zone

  Central

  
  
• Organization

  University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  My research interests are focused on understanding the molecular aspects that drive: plant-environment interactions, plant development, and plant survival.

  
  
• Which of the following best describes your career stage?

  Research Specialist

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What lessons have you learned in your career about how science works?

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

  There is a scope to always keep asking new questions. There is a lot there, that is still unknown and yet to be understood/discovered.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  Arabidopsis thaliana. This little plant revolutionized plant science by informing numerous research questions ranging from plant development to reproduction, from plant stress response to hormonal regulation.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

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

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

  My interest in science as a subject started in middle school. It strengthen further in my undergraduate when I started getting involved with experimental design and setup.

  
  
• 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

SPIRIT Praveena Kanchupati Oct 23, 2021

Hello team! How is the experiment coming along? Did observation tables help? Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. 
Keep discovering!

- Dr. K

SPIRIT Praveena Kanchupati Oct 8, 2021

Hello Tylen and team!

Thank you for the update. It seems you are already making progress, that's awesome! 

Making comprehensive observations is key to a successful experiment. So based on the question you are trying to…

more

Hello Tylen and team!

Thank you for the update. It seems you are already making progress, that's awesome! 

Making comprehensive observations is key to a successful experiment. So based on the question you are trying to answer, I would suggest you make observations on both the characteristics of the plants; 1. plant height and 2.leaf shape. You can always add additional characteristics as they emerge. I would suggest you make an observation table and record your data.

Recording the data will help you determine multiple traits of the plants and how they interact with each other. For example, does a plant that is tall also have jagged edge leaves?or, does a plant that is short have smooth leaves?

Can you think of additional questions? Do you observe an interaction between different characteristics you are tracking? 

Give this a thought and post your comments/ questions and I will help you navigate the experimental design for the project. Once the experimental design is good, gathering data to support your predictions becomes easier.

SPIRIT Praveena Kanchupati Sep 28, 2021

Hello team! I am Dr. Praveena Kanchupati (you can call me Dr. K!). I will be the team's scientist mentor, and I am here to help and guide you through your investigations. Go ahead and share your ideas and observations, and I will try my…

more

Hello team! I am Dr. Praveena Kanchupati (you can call me Dr. K!). I will be the team's scientist mentor, and I am here to help and guide you through your investigations. Go ahead and share your ideas and observations, and I will try my best to support you. Lets discover!!!