Profile

• Mailing Address

  address1:	Point Park University
  address2:	201 Wood Street
  city:	Pittsburgh
  postal:	15222
  region:	PA
  country:	US

  
  
• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  Point Park University

  
  
• Employment Status

  University / College Faculty

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  Research interests include pollinators, lichens and plant ecology. I manage a citizen science project called Project Bee Watch around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We are surveying meadows to determine the status of pollinators in the region. I am also a lichenologist, using lichens in southwestern Pennsylvania to assess air quality and establish a distribution map of lichens. My third research interest is assisting local land trusts in monitoring plant communities in wetlands and forests to assess ecological changes. Additional studies I have done with my botany and ecology classes include measuring forest carbon sequestration, using algae as indicators of water quality, forensic botany and investigating the anatomy and physiology of plants.

  
  
• Do you have previous experience in mentorship or educational outreach? Please list here (200 words)

  I am a university professor that teaches botany and ecology, among other environmental courses. My research regularly includes undergraduate students, with some having gone on to give presentations at national conferences and publish in scientific journals. In addition to mentoring student research, I choose research projects that work closely with communities. For example, my research on pollinators relies on volunteer citizen scientists to survey plants and the pollinators that visit them. This way the community is included in my research and they become educated about the role pollinators play in nature. In the last couple years, I've begun visiting elementary schools and teaching them about plants and pollinators.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Do you have advice for students about preparing for a science career?

  
  
• Availability

  I am currently available for mentoring, please send me team match invitations

  
  
• Preferred Student Level(s)

  Middle School Students (Grades 6,7,8)
  High School Students (Grades 9,10,11,12)
  Elementary School Students (5th grade)
  Undergraduate Students

  
  
• Preferred Investigation Themes

  The Power of Sunlight (photosynthesis and respiration)
  Agronomy Feeds the World (where does food come from?)
  Tree-mendous Trees
  What about Pollen? (pollen and pollination)
  Celery Challenge (plant anatomy, osmosis and diffusion)

  
  
• Videoconference Ability

  Yes

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

Plants Sciences Matthew Opdyke Mar 20 at 12:44pm

Thank for sharing your project with me. I hope you got to learn some interesting things.

Plants Sciences Matthew Opdyke Mar 7 at 12:48pm

Good job in thinking through your design and ensuring that you have replicates. I assume you are keeping sunlight exposure and temperature consistent between all of your replicates. Your results sound interesting. Water is the main abiotic factor…

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Good job in thinking through your design and ensuring that you have replicates. I assume you are keeping sunlight exposure and temperature consistent between all of your replicates. Your results sound interesting. Water is the main abiotic factor that affects seed germination, so you want to make sure all the seeds are exposed to the same amount of water. Try to avoid some seeds submerged and some floating. What dissolved minerals, nutrients, or organic chemicals do you think are most influential in the lake water?

Plants Sciences Matthew Opdyke Feb 23 at 12:56pm

Good job in starting to think about experimental designs for your project. Make sure to choose a topic that is not only fun but also challenges you to learn. I've listed a few thoughts about each experiment below:

1. If you add food coloring…

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Good job in starting to think about experimental designs for your project. Make sure to choose a topic that is not only fun but also challenges you to learn. I've listed a few thoughts about each experiment below:

1. If you add food coloring to soil will it make a difference? Seeds germinate underground in darkness, so why would the soil color matter?

2. I like this experiment but how will you describe the different soils? For example, highway soil will likely be higher in heavy metals and salt compared to your backyard. But do you have sampling equipment at school to measure metals and salt in soil? If not, how can you say for sure if the highway soil has higher metal and salt content. An alternative to this might be some combination of garden, forest, or wetland soil and see whether differences in organic matter in the soils affect germination. You can measure organic matter at home with permission from your parents. First, dry the soil to about 100 F in an oven. Weigh the dry soil. Then raise the temperature to 400 F for 2 hrs. with the dried soil inside. Then allow to cool back to 100 F and weight the soil again. The difference in mass is the amount of organic matter that was combusted in the oven. P.S. - If you get in trouble with your parents I will deny everything :)

3. Sounds like a good experiment, just make sure to quantify whatever you add to the soil.

4. Another good idea but only if you can analyze the water to find out what's inside. If the lake water is rich in nutrients it might help germination or if tap water has too much chlorine it might inhibit germination. Either way, you'll have to know what's in the water.

Whichever experiment you choose make sure to have a control. For example, a soil that has no additions to it. This way you can use it as a reference against your altered soil.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing what happens.