Profile

• Time Zone

  Eastern

  
  
• Organization

  University of North Carolina - Asheville

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I am a plant physiological ecologist, so I study how plants work and respond to various environmental factors. I also have training in forest and community ecology, so things like competition, drivers of community composition and non-native invasive plants. I also have some training Mycology, particularly mycorrhizal fungi-plant interactions

  
  
• 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 think I always knew I wanted to be an ecologist. As a child I was heavily involved in Scouting and spent a lot of time hiking, camping and recreating in nature. I carried that passion with me to college and took classes with outdoor labs. I enjoy taking students out into the natural world and showing them cool things!

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  I think my favorite plant would have to be the Saguaro cactus of the Sonoran Desert. It is iconic for that ecosystem. I grew up in the Southeastern United States and was not really familiar with desert ecosystems until I moved to Arizona for graduate school. This plant is beautiful, especially when producing its bat and bird pollinated flowers. The fact that it can rapidly absorb rainwater and store it internally and then use it for weeks or months is amazing.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  What is a typical day like for you?

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

  That depends on the time of year. During the school year, I typically spend time in the morning preparing for class, and then teaching and working with students from class or research students on their projects. I do teach a lot of field classes where I get to take students outside. During the summer, I am usually working with students on their research projects and spend time outside in various ecosystems helping them set up experiments and collecting data.

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

  2