Planting Science - Members: View: Jeremy Foster

Jeremy Foster

Profile

Profile

Time Zone

Central
Organization

Chicago Botanic Garden
Role

Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online
Research Interests (300 words)

I am the pollen bank manager at the Chicago Botanic Garden, meaning I study pollen and its storage for future use. As a conservation botanist, this work allows me to develop methods which allow to pollinate plants that bloom at different times, either because they grow in different climates (or hemispheres), or because of their physiology (for example the corpse flower, Amorphophallus titanum). A lot of my work at the moment consists of making different media to test pollen germination, or the growth of the pollen tube, to assess if the pollen is alive. I then check if the pollen can be dried, and then stored in our -80C freezer. This spring (2024) I will be working with several new plants including oaks, magnolias, orchids etc.
Profile Question 1

When and why did you decide to go into a science career?
Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

I have been attracted to science since I was in elementary school, and my parents like to tell people that I told them I was going to become an ornithologist when I was 8 years old and kept that desire until I was around 20. I always was fascinated by nature and all the questions I had about the diversity of animals. I wasn't interested in plants until I went to college and worked in the campus greenhouse, where I realized the vast array of topics there are in the field of botany.
Profile Question 2

What is tough about being a scientist?
Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):

Being a scientist has a lot of positives, such as never running out of questions and the constant development of new methods to test these questions. Science also comes with its challenges. I personally find it tough when I spend weeks, and sometimes months, researching something that never works. That is a large part of my current research, as not many people work on pollen viability and therefore few of my questions are already answered. That leads to me having to look for these answers which rarely happen quickly.
Profile Question 3

What is your favorite plant? Why?
Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):

This is always a difficult question. I find all plants fascinating given how vast their diversity is. At the moment, I am fascinated by Dendrosicyos socotranum. It is the only species in its genus, and it's the only cucurbit to grow in a tree form! (other members of the cucurbitaceae family are cucumber, pumpkin, zucchini...). They are endemic to the island of Socotra, which is south of Yemen in the Indian ocean. All the plants found on that island are on my list of "favorite" plants as they all have developed some specialized way of growing due to the climate and environment.
Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

2

Jeremy Foster

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