Nicholas Dove
Profile
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Time ZonePacific
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OrganizationUniversity of California - Merced
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RoleScientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online
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Research Interests (300 words)I am interested in ecosystem ecology. More specifically, my research is on the effects of disturbance (such as wildfire) on soil microbial communities and their impacts on nutrient cycling. My research is applicable to projects investigating plant-soil interactions (especially with a microbial or nutrient component).
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Profile Question 1When and why did you decide to go into a science career?
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Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):As a kid, I always really liked being outside, but never really knew what I wanted for a job when I grew up. Science was interesting to me, but I never really saw myself as a scientist. Then, during my first year of high school in biology class, we watched a movie about scientists studying sea turtles in the Galapagos. They were camped out on this remote island. I was amazed that that was a job! From then on I knew I wanted to study ecology.
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Profile Question 2What is your favorite plant? Why?
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Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):I think pitcher plants are the coolest. They live in environments like bogs that are really low in nutrition. To survive, they lure insects into a modified leaf that harbors enzymes that kill and break the insects down. They are then able to feed on the insect carcasses. We usually think about plants as passive and nice, but these guys are cold-blooded killers!
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Profile Question 3What is best about being a scientist?
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Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):The best thing about being a scientist is that you have a lot of autonomy. As long as you are getting your work done and doing a good job, you have a lot of control over what you do. It's fun to be able to ask questions and try to answer them. Who knows, maybe someday you'll make a cool discovery! I think that is pretty cool.
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AvailabilityI am NOT available, please temporarily remove me from the available mentor list
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Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?2
Recent Posts
FLOP! 6DW
Nicholas Dove
Is there a plant in a bottle without orbeez? How much has that plant grown?
TheGreatScientists
Nicholas Dove
That sounds like a really cool experiment! Can you tell me a bit about your experimental design?
TheGreatScientists
Nicholas Dove
Hi guys,
My name is Nicholas, and I am a grad student at the University of California, Merced. I study how different wildfires affect soil microbes (bacteria and fungi) and how this affects biogeochemical cycling and plant nutrition. It's…
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