Profile

• Organization

  University of Hawai'i at Mānoa

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  Plant systematics and evolution; island biology and biogeography; ferns

  
  
• 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 became interested in science as a teen primarily by being outdoors, hiking, camping, and fishing in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Sacramento area, and the north coast of California. My interests were further refined by observing nature through a camera lens after my grandpa gave me a camera when I was about 16. I found that trying to capture images of interesting and beautiful things in nature made me more interested in trying to understand them, especially plants.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  Ferns and lycophytes. I simply find ferns and lycophytes to be beautiful. I guess I'm attracted to things that possess a sort of cryptic, less showy beauty (i.e., fern leaves vs. flowers). Also, I find the fern and lycophyte life cycles fascinating with their 2-parted, free-living stages (gametophytes and sporophytes).

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Can you describe your attitude toward science when you were in high school?

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

  The sciences I studied in high school were math, physics, and biology. I liked math because I was pretty good at it. I liked physics because I had a great teacher who obviously loved physics and teaching and, therefore, made the subject fun for us students. Biology? Hmmm....not so much. The class was all about animals and just not very fun. It was when I discovered plants on my own and when outdoors that I really became interested in biology.

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

  1

  
  

Recent Posts

The Nutcrackers Tom A Ranker Nov 8, 2021

That's good to hear. It will be interesting to watch them develop.

The Nutcrackers Tom A Ranker Nov 1, 2021

Yay! Congratulations! I look forward to hearing about your continued observations.

The Nutcrackers Tom A Ranker Oct 12, 2021

Well, there is still hope that the spores will germinate since it's only been about 12 days since you sowed them.