Profile

• Time Zone

  Mountain

  
  
• Organization

  Arizona State University

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am studying how fire impacts plant community composition in the Sonoran Desert. This data can be used to help this region develop it's own native plant materials program by defining workhorse species and bringing to light any species that may need special consideration after this kind of disturbance.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  One of my most favorite plants is the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). It grows in the deserts of the southwestern United States and it produces a resin on its leaves that acts as a sunblock. This resin washes away during rainstorms, producing a scent that not only smells heavenly, but signals that the desert is getting RAIN!

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is tough about being a scientist?

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

  Being a plant scientist can be tough because there are many people that do not think plants are important. Plants don't have cute faces and this can make it difficult to convince people to care if they don't understand why a plant needs protecting. Plants deserve our protection and our respect, though, because if there are no plants there cannot be animals.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  (not set)

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

  (not set)

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

cgpsbuckleyfall2017 project 9 Kara Barron Nov 21, 2017

Interesting data. Another group I am working with had similar results in that the water with the highest temperature performed photosynthesis the best. Light exposure is important here, too, so think about whether or not your cups were all the same…

more

Interesting data. Another group I am working with had similar results in that the water with the highest temperature performed photosynthesis the best. Light exposure is important here, too, so think about whether or not your cups were all the same distance away from the light source. You might also want to check on the optimal temperature for the particular plant you used, if you didn't check on this already. Some plants diverge from the "norm" when it comes to photosynthesis. Any other reasons that you can think of that might have caused your result?

And while you may already realize this, I always like to remind everyone that just because your hypothesis isn't supported doesn't mean you don't learn things and experiments are all about learning, not about being correct.

cgpsbuckleyfall2017 project 2 Kara Barron Nov 21, 2017

These are interesting results! How much baking soda did you end up using? If the ratio of baking soda to water was different in each cup or if the cups weren't an equal distance away from the light source, this could affect your experimental…

more

These are interesting results! How much baking soda did you end up using? If the ratio of baking soda to water was different in each cup or if the cups weren't an equal distance away from the light source, this could affect your experimental outcome.

cgpsbuckleyfall2017 project 2 Kara Barron Nov 15, 2017

Great! Your experimental design looks solid. I look forward to seeing your results. :)