Profile

• Time Zone

  Pacific

  
  
• Organization

  Vector Control Consultants

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  Invasive species; plant population biology and reproduction;
  weeds, agronomy and economic botany;
  evolution and basic genetics;
  How students learn and teachers teach most effectively;

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What was the first science experiment you ever designed? How did it turn out?

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

  I found mold growing on paint, which was clearly not food. I wanted to find out what else mold could grow on, so I sealed up jars of different stuff and put them in my closet, and made observations. It didn't smell very good! Mold did turn out to be very flexible in what it will eat but I think everyone was happier when that project was over.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  Can you share a funny/interesting lab or field story?

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

  I was studying invasive species (like weeds) in a rural, roadside area. It was dusk and I really wanted to finish this site. Cops came by and were suspicious about all this "wandering and hiding behind trees". Fortunately, it all worked out, but "bad cop" scowled and established that I was who I said I was while "good cop" and I both got all excited about the science going on there.

  
  
• 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

Period 7 Group 2 Jeffrey Firestone Nov 29, 2021

Hi team -- I'm a plant ecologist and a science educator with Science From Scientist.  I'm available to answer any questions you have.  I like what you've done so far.  The leaves and foil experiment looks pretty good so…

more

Hi team -- I'm a plant ecologist and a science educator with Science From Scientist.  I'm available to answer any questions you have.  I like what you've done so far.  The leaves and foil experiment looks pretty good so far. 

In your predictions, you say "warmer" colored lights will change things.  Can you describe which colors are "warmer"?  When we talk about light color at, say, a hardware or lighting store, we are talking about the range from white-yellow to white-white to white-blue. 

How does soil temperature affect Root Growth? Jeffrey Firestone Nov 29, 2021

Hi Team,   I saw the pictures of your project.  They looked good.  I'm sorry to hear that so few germinated!!!   Keep going longer, if you can, and you might find that more germinate this week.  Few seeds…

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Hi Team,   I saw the pictures of your project.  They looked good.  I'm sorry to hear that so few germinated!!!   Keep going longer, if you can, and you might find that more germinate this week.  Few seeds germinate instantly.  In nature they like to wait a couple weeks (like seeds we buy to garden) up to the next year (for those in places with hard winters).  This prevents them from germinating in fall at the first rain and dying over the winter.  I hope that you'll get lots more results!

Your writeup was good. 

How does soil temperature affect Root Growth? Jeffrey Firestone Nov 12, 2021

Read the project description.  Good plans, overall.  You should use centimeters rather than inches, however.  First, all scientists pretty much use the metric system, so it would be consistent.  Second and more importantly, it is…

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Read the project description.  Good plans, overall.  You should use centimeters rather than inches, however.  First, all scientists pretty much use the metric system, so it would be consistent.  Second and more importantly, it is much easier to do math in metric.  Doubling 22 millimeters is way simpler than doubling 7/8th of an inch, for example and it gets even worse with division.