Profile

• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  Indiana University - Bloomington

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I study how plants respond to rapid changes in their environment across both time and space.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  My favorite plants are called sensitive plants. When you touch a leaf, it will fold up. We think this is an adaptation to avoid predation or avoid water loss. I also like partridge peas, which are a prairie plant native to the United States. This was the first species of plant I worked with and they have a lot of cool adaptations too. They form mutualistic relationships with bacteria called rhizobia and with ants. Fun fact: both of these plants are in the same plant "family"!

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  Can you share a funny/interesting lab or field story?

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

  I had an internship at NASA when I was an undergrad and got to send plants into space.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Can you describe your attitude toward science when you were in high school?

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

  My favorite subjects in high school were writing/reading/language arts. I didn't think I would be a scientist until I started learning more about climate change and came across the idea that plants don't move. This sounds obvious, but I became curious about how plants would respond to climate change if they couldn't go to more suitable places and move around like animals.

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

loscashmanwosspring2024 project 10 Emma Boehm Mar 21 at 09:14am

Hi Mabel,

Thanks for the update! How about the plants you watered with plain water? Are they still alive? 

 

-Emma

loscashmanwosspring2024 project 10 Emma Boehm Feb 22 at 01:34pm

Hi Mabel! I'm doing well, thanks for asking! 

That sounds like an interesting set up. Can you tell me a little bit more about what question you all are investigating? I'm thinking it's maybe about soil pH based on your…

more

Hi Mabel! I'm doing well, thanks for asking! 

That sounds like an interesting set up. Can you tell me a little bit more about what question you all are investigating? I'm thinking it's maybe about soil pH based on your description but you tell me! Also, have you all talked about what you expect to see in each of your treatments? 

Very exciting to have started the experiment! 

-Emma

loscashmanwosspring2024 project 10 Emma Boehm Feb 20 at 08:41pm

Hi Team! 

My name is Emma and I'm currently a 5th year Ph.D. Candidate at Indiana University. I'm also a "plant evolutionary ecologist" which just means that I'm interested in both plant ecology (how plants interact…

more

Hi Team! 

My name is Emma and I'm currently a 5th year Ph.D. Candidate at Indiana University. I'm also a "plant evolutionary ecologist" which just means that I'm interested in both plant ecology (how plants interact with the environment) and evolution (how plants change over time)! I love studying plants because they can't move -- which might seem counterintuitive, but it means they have to figure out creative ways to do well in whatever environment they're in. My research right now primarily focuses on how plants respond to environmental stress (like changes in the frequency of rain). I study a very charismatic plant (in my opinion) called Collinsia verna or Blue-Eyed Mary (a strange name, I know). 

Do you all have favorite plants? Please feel free to reach out with any questions -- I'm excited to help you all with your project! 

-Emma