Profile

• Time Zone

  Mountain

  
  
• Organization

  University of Montana

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  Evolution, Floral Biology, mating system, adaptation, speciation

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  Monkeyflowers!!! I enjoy most plants, but study monkeyflowers because they are beautiful and super-diverse at all levels, from within population to genus-wide. And there is a wonderful positive feedback where the more you know, the more interesting (and answerable) questions arise..

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  Doing science lets you follow your curiosity and exercise your brain (which is personally satisfying) while also advancing understanding of the particularities and commonalities of natural diversity (which is fundamentally important and often useful).

  
  
• 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):

  I have always been interested in plants, as I grew up off-grid in Redwood Country (Northern California) surrounded by amazing plant diversity, both natural and cultivated. I was a biology and art history major in college, but made conscious choice not to pursue the humanities further (I really really love data, though I sometimes miss the diversity of words in other fields...).
  
  I feel very lucky to have gotten a faculty job (nearly 2 decades ago) while remaining ridiculously unsavvy about science (or anything) as a "career", having bumbled from one stage/project to the next with the support of generous mentors and NSF fellowships/grants.
  
  I am now conscious that not really having to make a choice was a rare privilege, and mentor students accordingly. But I do still think that a passion for understanding the hidden processes behind natural patterns is the main reason to be a scientist.

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

  1

  
  

Recent Posts

The G's Lila Fishman Apr 18, 2022

Glad I had the chance to work with you, Gs! Although the experiment didn't go quite as planned, I hope you learned  some things!  Do you think smaller seeds might have been ok with less water? Does this help you understand why droughts…

more

Glad I had the chance to work with you, Gs! Although the experiment didn't go quite as planned, I hope you learned  some things!  Do you think smaller seeds might have been ok with less water? Does this help you understand why droughts are such a big deal for plants (and people, who often eat plants...)? Have a good rest of the year!

The G's Lila Fishman Apr 8, 2022

Thanks you Evan and other G's!!!  I am sorry I couldn't participate in the Zooms, but it was fun to follow along. Even though things didn't go exactly as planned with your expt. (that happens even now to us pretty often!), you all…

more

Thanks you Evan and other G's!!!  I am sorry I couldn't participate in the Zooms, but it was fun to follow along. Even though things didn't go exactly as planned with your expt. (that happens even now to us pretty often!), you all did a great job interpreting it !  I hope you keep noticing plants and asking questions about the world around you. Happy Spring!

bubble guppies Lila Fishman Apr 8, 2022

Thank you! I am sorry I could not participate in the Zoom meetings, but it was great to see how your project went. You all did a great job, and hopefully you keep thinking about plants and science. Happy Spring!