Profile

• Time Zone

  Central

  
  
• Organization

  Delta State University

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  General Botany, Herbarium research, Palynology, Paleobotany, Conservation Biology.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  Liriodendron tulipifera is my favorite tree. I focused on leaves, seeds, and fruits of fossil Liriodendron when I was pursuing my Master's degree in geology (concentration paleobotany) when I was at the University of Idaho. I like the shape of the leaves. Liriodendron also is an early angiosperm so it is important in studying evolutionary trends of angiosperms. Liriodendron tulipifera also is an easy plant to teach to students who take ,my Plant Anatomy course. It's wood has really interesting compound xylem vessels.

  
  
• 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):

  Science was always my favorite subject in school. I always liked looking at nature and coming up with questions. My mother also enjoyed plants. She knew about their medicinal properties and she had a 'green thumb'. Science is so complex yet simple at the same time. For example, most plants possess a very similar modular arrangement: roots, stems, and leaves. However, every plant species is unique.
  I studied geology and botany in college. I have bachelor degrees in both fields. I have two master degrees in the geosciences and a PhD.D. in botany.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  What is tough about being a scientist?

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

  The hardest part about being a scientist is writing manuscripts and obtaining good equipment. Sometimes help is needed to maintain good equipment, such as a scanning electron microscope, which many universities cannot afford. Keeping up with software that should make doing projects easier, but is challenging to learn, takes time away from doing research.as well.

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

  2