Profile

• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  Aquinas College

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am an evolutionary biologist who studies plants. I study the evolution of mating systems in flowering plants as well as the evolution of what pollen grains look like. I am also interested in all kinds of plant adaptations and ecological interactions

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is a typical day like for you?

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

  I don't know if there is such a thing as a typical day...Everyday of the week I teach at least one hour-long class. Some days, I also teach multiple lab sections.
  In the time that I am not actively teaching in the classroom I might be doing one of a wide variety of things. I spend a lot of time preparing for future classes by researching topics and organizing my ideas into "lectures" for the class. Sometimes I am designing labs and other learning activities, thinking through the assignments to figure out how well they will help my students learn. Of course, I spend time answering student emails and meeting with students, departmental colleagues and/or other faculty. I also have to think way ahead sometimes to prepare course plans for future semesters.
  Most of my research happens during the summer. Some days I am out in the field measuring plants and collecting specimens. Some days I am working in the lab to process collected specimens or in the greenhouse to grow plants. Research also requires a lot of times analyzing data and describing the results in writing.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  I think the best thing about being a scientist is that I often get to learn new things. Sometimes, it can feel exhausting to think about how much is still out there to learn. But, usually I find it exciting and fulfilling to try to end each day having learned at least one new thing

  
  
• Profile Question 3

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

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

  I have learned that experiments often don't work quite the way you planned the first time around. You can do everything in a "right" or reasonable way and still not get data that seem meaningful or clearly tell a story. Often experiments need to be repeated or expanded to really answer the questions you want to ask.

  
  
• 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

esahsdigitalegriderfall2017 project 16 Rebecca Penny Humphrey Dec 19, 2017

Hi team!

it can be confusing when our results don’t meet our hypothesis (!), but it is also an opportunity to keep exploring. 

I don’t know for sure why your experiment yielded these results, but maybe there was some…

more

Hi team!

it can be confusing when our results don’t meet our hypothesis (!), but it is also an opportunity to keep exploring. 

I don’t know for sure why your experiment yielded these results, but maybe there was some unaccounted-for variation among your treatments (that is, maybe a variable youbthought was controlled really differed among the treatments). Perhaps the red light bulb produced more heat (warm temperatures speed up enzyme-driven processes like the Calvin cycle). Or maybe the bulbs were different wattages (so they put out different amounts of energy). Perhaps the white light bulb has a coating that blocks some wavelengths. 

Lots of possibilities!

I guess I’m also a little unclear about the units in your figure. Your description suggests low values are faster (like less time for same amount of change), but the title says rate, which suggests the opposite (low rate = slow).

I hope that you enjoyed this experience exploring research and photosynthesis! Let me know if you have any final questions! 

esahsdigitalegriderfall2017 project 14 Rebecca Penny Humphrey Dec 18, 2017

Hi team! Dr. Humphrey here - your class-mentor liaison. I had to delete the posted screenshot because it included personal identifying information (gmail address).  I cropped it and re-uploaded. 

It’s exciting to see your results…

more

Hi team! Dr. Humphrey here - your class-mentor liaison. I had to delete the posted screenshot because it included personal identifying information (gmail address).  I cropped it and re-uploaded. 

It’s exciting to see your results an conclusions! I hope that you have enjoyed exploring photosynthesis!

Perez Group 4 Rebecca Penny Humphrey Dec 18, 2017

Hi Brisa,

Dr Humphrey here - your class-mentor liaison.

You can upload files by clicking the "File" in the menu on the left of this page.

Sounds like you have experienced some real-life complications of biological/field…

more

Hi Brisa,

Dr Humphrey here - your class-mentor liaison.

You can upload files by clicking the "File" in the menu on the left of this page.

Sounds like you have experienced some real-life complications of biological/field work!