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Shan Kothari

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 different strategies that plants can have to capture and use light in harsh environments. Plants can maximize their exposure to light by growing quickly, building lots of leaves, and arranging those leaves in their canopy in particular ways. But sometimes, strategies that capture lots of light actually hurt the plant more than helping. This can happen when resources to build leaves are scarce, or when plants are exposed to levels of light that can cause damage to their cells. I try to discover when certain strategies are effective or ineffective.

  • Profile Question 1
    Can you share a funny/interesting lab or field story?

  • Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):
    I live in Minnesota, where winter temperatures can get very, very cold. One February, I was a teaching assistant for a class where I was in charge of coordinating several labs throughout the semester. For one lab, I had to borrow some plants from the university plant conservatory. The conservatory director was very busy that day, so she just authorized me to take whatever plants I wanted. I took two plants from the desert and tropical rainforest rooms of the conservatory and carried them outside to the lab room. The next morning, I was shocked to discover that their leaves were totally ruined and falling off! They had only been outside for about five minutes, but that was enough to nearly kill them.

  • Profile Question 2
    What is your favorite plant? Why?

  • Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):
    My favorite plant is the sassafras tree. The leaves are beautifully lobed and smooth, and they smell wonderful. They remind me of my home in Michigan.

  • Profile Question 3
    What is the coolest thing you have discovered or learned about plants?

  • Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):
    Some plants can generate their own heat! A plant called skunk cabbage, for example, has been known to make holes in the snow by using their energy to make heat, which allows them to stay much warmer than the air in the winter,

  • In addition to English, I am comfortable communicating with students in the following languages:
    (not set)

  • Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?
    2

Recent Posts

esahsdigitalegriderfall2017 project 20 Shan Kothari

Also, try googling something like "chlorophyll reflectance spectrum" or "chlorophyll absorption spectrum." This will show you what percent of light chlorophyll absorbs or reflects at different wavelengths.

esahsdigitalegriderfall2017 project 20 Shan Kothari

Hey Christian,

I wouldn't say that red is the opposite of green. That's true on the color wheel people learn in art class, but in science, the differences between red, blue, and green are just differences in the amount of energy theā€¦

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esahsdigitalegriderfall2017 project 20 Shan Kothari

Thanks for the chart! Was there a lot of variation among replicates within treatments?

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NSF_Logo.jpg This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #2010556 and #1502892. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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