Profile

• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  University of Pennsylvania

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  Plant Physiology, Agronomy, Crop Science, Photosynthesis

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  Bein able to ask questions nobody knows the answer to.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is the coolest thing you have discovered or learned about plants?

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

  That they sense the present of neighbors right from germination.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  (not set)

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

  (not set)

  
  
• Help represent the outreach efforts of your societies. Please click all those organizations you are a member of:

  (not set)

  
  
• How did you hear about PlantingScience?

  (not set)

  
  
• In addition to English, I am comfortable communicating with students in the following languages:

  Hebrew

  
  
• Videoconference Ability

  Yes

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

24fyuhasemhspos project 3 Shiran Ben Zeev Nov 10 at 05:55pm

Hi, everyone, my name is Shiran Ben Zeev. I got my PhD in crops and vegetable sciences in Israel, and now I am a post-doc at Penn State working on plant physiology and crop production. Im looking forward to joining your project and learning with you.

24flynchmhspos project 6 Shiran Ben Zeev Oct 25 at 05:53am

Hi everyone,

A couple of things: PH is not something you add- it's a characteristic of a solution; also, for it to be acidic, you want it to be low. I think you want to check the level of PH, not the amount.

There are products called…

more

Hi everyone,

A couple of things: PH is not something you add- it's a characteristic of a solution; also, for it to be acidic, you want it to be low. I think you want to check the level of PH, not the amount.

There are products called PH- and PH+, which are bases and acids, respectively.  Your lemon juice is a sort of PH product that adds hydrogen ions. 

The idea of checking how acidity affects photosynthesis is interesting, and you can check that without reaching acidity levels that harm the plants- like in the experiment you planned. 

Importantly, we do not get acid rain (thankfully), but if we did, the damage to the leaves would be mechanical because the acid would hurt the leaves. in nature, they get their water from the ground, which has an ability (called buffering) to change the Ph of water and usually make it better for trees.

The effect on photosynthesis will be secondary- not direct.

Finally, consider what baking soda is made from (it's a base- higher PH) so the chemistry here is interesting, and the actual addition of the lemon juice to the water with baking soda should be pretty fizzy.

 

24fanthonywchspos project 5 Shiran Ben Zeev Oct 19 at 12:38pm

Hi, Everyone, my name is Shiran Ben Zeev, and I am a postdoctoral scientist at Penn State.

I Grew up on a farm in northern Israel, and after my military service, I got a PhD in crops and vegetable sciences. I am excited to work with all of you.