Profile

• Time Zone

  Central

  
  
• Organization

  DePaul University

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am interested in how the types of tree species we see in forest communities might be changing over time and what might be causing those changes. Specifically I'm interested in forests in North America where many different species of trees can be found, also known as mixedwood forests.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

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

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

  Make sure you know all of the aspects of what goes into being a scientist and prepare accordingly. You might start on the path to ecology research because you like observing the natural world, but don't forget that a large portion of the work you'll be doing might be statistics and data analysis. Don't let that discourage you, though! Even if math isn't your favorite thing, it can still be very rewarding when you analyze data from your very own project. And remember, you should never stop learning!

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What was the first science experiment you ever designed? How did it turn out?

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

  One of the first that I can remember was for an elementary school science fair. I wanted to test if food amount could effect how far frogs and toads could jump. My mom hated the experiment since it involved making frogs and toads jump in our bathtub, but she was always supportive of my love for science. I think in the end, it didn't matter how much or little the animals were fed over that short a period of time, they jumped about the same distance. It was a really fun experiment, though...for me at least!

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  What is tough about being a scientist?

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

  It can be tough to stay motivated and interested, especially if you are stuck on a problem or working on the same project for a long time. I often get stuck in a rut where I don't feel motivated to do work or where I don't feel like I'm actually making progress on a topic or a problem. Just remember that we all go through times like these and they usually pass. It's important to utilize the people and resources you have around you, but sometimes all it takes is a little time or a short break from the problem to get the gears turning again!

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

  1

  
  

Recent Posts

PlantLifecycle Kiley Chernicky 22 hrs

Good morning!

I was sorry to hear from your teacher that you are having trouble with plate contamination and that the spores aren't germinating. Agar plates are very appealing to bacteria and fungi that live in the world all around us, so it…

more

Good morning!

I was sorry to hear from your teacher that you are having trouble with plate contamination and that the spores aren't germinating. Agar plates are very appealing to bacteria and fungi that live in the world all around us, so it can be a difficult task for any scientist to avoid contamination. It sounds like you all did as much as you could to keep contamination close to zero, but unfortunately sometimes experiments fail the first time around. 

Are there any interesting observations you can share about the bacteria and fungi growing on the plates? What's one way you think that ferns in the wild might handle competition from bacteria and fungi in their environment?

Cheers,

Kiley

PlantLifecycle Kiley Chernicky Apr 29 at 12:14pm

Happy Monday!

I'm so interested to hear how the Pepsi spores did! Do you have any interesting results to share? 

Cheers,

Kiley

PlantLifecycle Kiley Chernicky Apr 17 at 01:35pm

Hi all!

My name is Kiley and I will be your classroom liaison for this session. Your mentor should be jumping in to introduce themselves soon, but I'll keep an eye out in the meantime in case you have any questions.

I am a second year…

more

Hi all!

My name is Kiley and I will be your classroom liaison for this session. Your mentor should be jumping in to introduce themselves soon, but I'll keep an eye out in the meantime in case you have any questions.

I am a second year masters student at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. My project is focused on how forest tree species composition may be changing as global temperatures rise, and what that might mean for our future forests. However, as a teaching assistant at DePaul, I've worked many times with C-Ferns and think they are a very interesting study subject!

In my free time I like hiking, running, playing video and board games, and hanging out with my dogs.

Cheers!

Kiley