Profile

• Time Zone

  Central

  
  
• Organization

  University of Texas - Austin

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I study how plants interact with other plants, their environment, and microbes, from a belowground perspective. My research focuses on understanding how these interactions change as the environment changes and scaling up to predict ecosystem-level changes. I use a multitude of methods to study individual-level responses using greenhouse studies and connecting individual-level and ecosystem-level responses using field studies.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  My favorite part about being a scientist is getting to discover and explore in ways that people have never done before! Even it's a small piece of knowledge, contributing to what we know as a society is always rewarding. The freedom I have as a scientist to keep learning new ideas is what drew me to the career in the first place. So I love being able to work in a career that not only allows, but forces me to keep learning and pushing the boundaries of what we know about plants.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  My favorite plant is, of course, the Texas Bluebonnet! Not only is it the Texas state flower, it's bloom is the first signal of spring in Texas (where I'm from). It blooms in large clumps, often covering whole fields for the month of March. But my favorite thing about the Texas Bluebonnet, is that it's a Nitrogen-fixer! The plant belongs in the legume family, which is known to associate with a bacteria called rhizobia. These rhizobia live in these growths on the bluebonnets roots called nodules. In exchange for sugars from the plant, these bacteria will take atmospheric Nitrogen and transform it into a form that the plant can use. This symbiosis is thousands of years old and is the primary source of Nitrogen for many terrestrial ecosystems. So not only are Texas Bluebonnets gorgeous, they are playing a critical role in the Nitrogen cycle.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Do you have advice for students about preparing for a science career?

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

  Never forget the big picture, or your motivation for becoming a scientist. You will hear a thousand times over that going into a career in science is tough, that it's going to test your limits, and maybe that it's not for everyone (this is false, but that's for another time). And to an extent, it's true - it's a challenging process. Even as a graduate student in my 5th year, there have been times where I ask myself is this what I really want? Is all of this work really worth it? This is when I remember why I chose to become a scientist, what the bigger picture is. Remembering why I chose this career path continues to ground me and keep pushing me through the more difficult aspects of science.

  
  
• 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

popcorn Sarah H Ortiz Nov 20, 2023

Hi Claire!

I think that sounds like a really great experiment. I'm excited to see what you find out! I like your question and your hypothesis is very interesting. Why do you think photosynthesis will decrease under acidic conditions compared…

more

Hi Claire!

I think that sounds like a really great experiment. I'm excited to see what you find out! I like your question and your hypothesis is very interesting. Why do you think photosynthesis will decrease under acidic conditions compared to basic conditions? Would it be reasonable to see a decrease under both conditions, but maybe the decrease is more extreme under the acidic treatment?

Great work so far!

The Grow Getters Sarah H Ortiz Nov 17, 2023

Hi Kolie!

Thank you for updating me on your project, it sounds really interesting! I think you will learn a lot about how plant utilize lights for photosynthesis. Below are a few questions I imagine may be important in designing your experiment.

… more

Hi Kolie!

Thank you for updating me on your project, it sounds really interesting! I think you will learn a lot about how plant utilize lights for photosynthesis. Below are a few questions I imagine may be important in designing your experiment.

First, what different colors, or wavelengths of light, are you going to be testing? Such has ambient light, green light, blue light, green light, infared light? 

Once you've decided on which light treatment you want to test, how do you think plants will respond? For example, do you think plants will grow better under blue or red light? Why is that? Try to apply what you've learned about photosynthesis so far to come up with these expectations. 

I think it would also be useful at the planning stage to think about how you will collect your data. For example, how will you measure growth of the plants? What kind of materials will you need to measure photosynthesis?

I think that's plenty for you to think about for now, and I hope these are useful questions to think about at this stage. I'm really excited to hear more about your project and where it goes from here!

 

The Grow Getters Sarah H Ortiz Oct 25, 2023

Hi everyone! My name is Sarah and I'm a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin; I will be one of your science mentors this semester! Broadly, I am interested in how plants interact with other plants, as well as their environment,…

more

Hi everyone! My name is Sarah and I'm a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin; I will be one of your science mentors this semester! Broadly, I am interested in how plants interact with other plants, as well as their environment, belowground. How they are able to compete and access various belowground resources such as water, Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and other micronutrients, has a large impact on how well they are able to grow and do photosynthesis throughout their lifetime. 

 

I'm very excited to explore photosynthesis and the power of sunlight with this group!