Profile

• Time Zone

  Pacific

  
  
• Organization

  University of California - Davis

  
  
• Role

  Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online

  
  
• Research Interests (300 words)

  I'm interested in how corn plants defend themselves against insect pests, disease, and drought. I study chemicals that corn plants make to defend themselves, called terpenes. I'm interested in how corn plants make terpenes, why they make them, and how the terpenes help the plant. The goal of my research is to understand the corn plant defense terpenes so that we can eventually breed or engineer plants that are more resilient to stress, making our food system more sustainable so the plants need less water and pesticides.

  
  
• Profile Question 1

  What is your favorite plant? Why?

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

  My favorite plant is corn! I love corn because it's one of the world's most important crop plants. It feeds humans and animals all over the world, and we eat a lot of it. Corn is also fun to research, because it is easy to grow and breed.

  
  
• Profile Question 2

  What is best about being a scientist?

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

  The best part about being a scientist is asking questions that no one knows the answer to. Every day I get to test new things and make new knowledge. I get to be independent and plan my own experiments, but I also get to work with others in a team. I also love that I get to help people with my science, because my research helps feed the world.

  
  
• Profile Question 3

  Do you have advice for students about preparing for a science career?

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

  If you are preparing for a science career, my advice is to never give up! Anyone can be a scientist, and when school gets tough, you don't like a certain subject, or you don't think you're very good at it, keep trying. Get help from your teachers and other students when you need it, and study hard so that you can go to college and get a science degree.

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

  2

  
  

Recent Posts

5- Sassy Seeds Katherine Marie Murphy Mar 28, 2018

Great job team! Why do you think the alfalfa sprouts liked the higher temperature and the corn sprouts liked the lower temperature? 

 

If you were going to advise a farmer who lived in Iowa, which of the two seeds would you tell her…

more

Great job team! Why do you think the alfalfa sprouts liked the higher temperature and the corn sprouts liked the lower temperature? 

 

If you were going to advise a farmer who lived in Iowa, which of the two seeds would you tell her to plant? 

 

Looking forward to hearing about your conclusions! 

Katherine

5- Sassy Seeds Katherine Marie Murphy Mar 24, 2018

Great photos, team! Scientists use photos all the time to remember what happened in their experiment. Hopefully your corn will sprout over the weekend! 

5- Sassy Seeds Katherine Marie Murphy Mar 22, 2018

Dear team Sassy Seeds, 

Corn is my favorite plant, so I am glad you are using it! I study molecules in corn that help the corn plants when they get sick. Why do you think the corn seeds will do better in cold temperatures? 

What did…

more

Dear team Sassy Seeds, 

Corn is my favorite plant, so I am glad you are using it! I study molecules in corn that help the corn plants when they get sick. Why do you think the corn seeds will do better in cold temperatures? 

What did you learn from the first experiment about watering that you may want to do for trial 2? 

Right now I am in France at the Corn Genetics Conference - one of the great parts about being a scientist is that I get to travel all around the world (for free!) to work with scientists across the globe and present my research. 

Katherine