Profile

• Time Zone

  Pacific

  
  
• Organization

  Washington State University

  
  
• Employment Status

  University / College Faculty

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am a postdoctoral researcher studying fungi that live within plant tissues without causing symptoms of disease. These fungi are called fungal endophytes and I investigate their diversity and function within host plants.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  I really enjoy the challenge and excitement of discovery. Although research is hard work, when you have breakthroughs it is incredibly rewarding and you may be the first person to ever make certain observations or obtain experimental results. Above all, plants are awesome and I get to work closely with them in the field, greenhouse and lab.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

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

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

  I have always loved plants, gardening and the outdoors and may have been preparing for a career in science for most of my life. However, it wasn’t until I was a junior or senior in college that I actually decided to pursue a career as a scientist. When an undergraduate, I was able to play a key role in several research projects in plant ecology. The projects went very well and I received encouragement from several professors that a career in science would be a good fit because of my passion and enthusiasm for plants and nature.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  My favorite group of plants is the ferns! Although many ferns belong to more recent groups that are about as old as the flowering plants, they represent an important transition in the evolution of land plants. They have a unique mode of reproduction with free-living gametophytes (haploid plants) and reproduce through spores (i.e. are seed-free). Above all, they are beautiful and have a near global distribution.

  
  
• 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

Photosynthesis 6 Brett Younginger Nov 5, 2019

Thank you, Xavier and team. I wish you all the best in your scientific endeavors!

-Brett

Photosynthesis 6 Brett Younginger Oct 29, 2019

Hey Conner, 

Good question. If leaf thickness was the main factor that affected the time to float, then pumpkin should have been intermediate between spinach and kale since it's thicker than spinach and thinner than kale. This is…

more

Hey Conner, 

Good question. If leaf thickness was the main factor that affected the time to float, then pumpkin should have been intermediate between spinach and kale since it's thicker than spinach and thinner than kale. This is actually what happened. However, are there any other factors that you think would have driven these results? Think about the leaf color and what is responsible for giving leaves their color and how that might affect photosynthesis.

-Brett

Photosynthesis 6 Brett Younginger Oct 24, 2019

Hi Team, 

This is great. We should discuss why you think the pumpkin took a long time and the spinach only took two minutes. What kinds of variables might cause this to happen? Again, did you run the two kinds of leaf discs side-by-side in…

more

Hi Team, 

This is great. We should discuss why you think the pumpkin took a long time and the spinach only took two minutes. What kinds of variables might cause this to happen? Again, did you run the two kinds of leaf discs side-by-side in the same solution? 

-Brett