Profile

• Time Zone

  Central

  
  
• Organization

  University of Minnesota

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I study the movement of sugar in (mostly) trees by making measurements of both physiology (how much photosynthesis is happening?) and anatomy (how big are the cells that move sugar?). I also have studied petioles - those little bits of leaf that connect a blade to a stem.

  
  
• 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've always been interested in science and mostly in school, gravitated toward biology, so in college, science was the natural extension of that interest. As for a science as a career, I mostly fell into that because I liked what I was doing enough to keep studying and going to school and here we are. Living things (plants and animals) are just so cool! As I've gotten older that enthusiasm has not gone away. As you learn more and more about a plant, for example, there are just so many more questions!

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What lessons have you learned in your career about how science works?

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

  A lot of science is things not working - experiments failing or needing to be modified. I'm not sure I was expecting that when I started out in science because most labs are designed to get you some result.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  I love trees in the genus Auricaria. The one you might know is Chilean Pine. They look prickly, but the needles are so soft.

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

loscashmanwosspring2024 project 3 Dustin Ray Mar 13 at 10:47am

Sounds good! is the regular starting to catch up to the 45°?

loscashmanwosspring2024 project 3 Dustin Ray Feb 26 at 12:28pm

Exciting! I am going to poke around a bit to see if I can find you some resources, but if you are looking for papers about this sort of project, definitely start with gravitropism. This is a really cool project because it also integrates…

more

Exciting! I am going to poke around a bit to see if I can find you some resources, but if you are looking for papers about this sort of project, definitely start with gravitropism. This is a really cool project because it also integrates development. The plant is having to "decide" where to send resources in an unusual way. I will leave it at that for now. Nice work!

loscashmanwosspring2024 project 3 Dustin Ray Feb 21 at 10:17am

Hi Team 3 - I *am* your project mentor. I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Minnesota Duluth. That means I have a PhD and am now doing research sponsored by a grant. I study how sugar moves throughout trees and am mostly interested…

more

Hi Team 3 - I *am* your project mentor. I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Minnesota Duluth. That means I have a PhD and am now doing research sponsored by a grant. I study how sugar moves throughout trees and am mostly interested in the structure of those cells that move sugar. I am excited to hear about your projects and am happy to answer any questions about my background and life as a scientist.