Growing Sustainable Cities

The 2016 Planet Forward Summit at George Washington University features mayors, public and private sector leaders, journalists, academics, students, innovators and entrepreneurs. Together these participants spend two full days (April 21-22) discovering and discussing the stories, innovations and people who will transform our cities in the coming decades. The Summit also features the winners of … Read more

I’m Plant Scientist Jenny Mortimer, And this is how I work.

Location: Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Current job/title: Director of Plant Systems Biology One word that describes how you work: enthusiastically. I’m conscious of the fact that I’m lucky that I get to do something I’m passionate about. Favorite thing you do at work: Learn Favorite plant: Arabidopsis (boring I know, but … Read more

Q&A with Richard Dixon about the President’s Symposium at Plant Biology 2016

ASPB President Richard A. Dixon, Ph.D, University of North Texas, has organized an important Major Symposia for the Plant Biology 2016 conference on plant specialized metabolism. Joining Dr. Dixon for the sessions will be: Ian Baldwin, Ph.D, Max Planck Institute, Jena Gregg Beckham, Ph.D, National Renewable Energy Labortory Joe Noel, Ph.D, Salk Institute Anne Osbourne, … Read more

I’m Plant Scientist Dan Peppe, and this is how I work.

Location: Baylor University Current job/title: Associate Professor, Department of Geosciences One word that describes how you work: excited Favorite thing you do at work: collect and study fossil leaves Favorite plant: Cycads (Cycads have existed for about 300 million years, fossil cycads are really cool and were ubiquitous in the Mesozoic (~225 – 66 million years ago), and modern cycads … Read more

Engaging with Educators in Nashville

ASPB exhibits at major science education conferences each year. One of our newest outreach volunteers, Sterling Field, M.S. University of Tennessee, shares a few experiences with ASPB at the 2016 National Science Teachers Association annual meeting. I really enjoyed volunteering with ASPB at the NSTA conference.  I got to talk with teachers about bringing plant-based … Read more

ASPB: Supporting the plant science community

A Brief History The American Society of Plant Physiologists was founded in 1924 as an offshoot of the Botanical Society of America. The founders felt that their efforts to understand “vital (living) processes of plants” would be best served by forming their own, freestanding society. In 2001, members elected to change the name to the … Read more

Calvin Cycle, Calvin-Benson Cycle or other?

How do you describe the cycle that involves carboxylation and regeneration of ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate that was elucidated by the work of Melvin Calvin, Andrew Benson and James Bassham? As a student, I learned that this is the Calvin Cycle, but a quick survey of the literature reveals that it is also described as the Calvin-Benson … Read more

I’m Plant Scientist Dr. Stacy DeBlasio, & this is how I work

Location: USDA-ARS, Ithaca Current job/title: Postdoctoral fellow One word that describes how you work: Hard Favorite thing you do at work: Western Blot Analysis Favorite plant: Hairy nightshade One interesting project you have been working on: Here in the Cilia lab we use a mass spec compatible cross-linker to fine-map the binding interfaces between plant viral proteins and the proteins … Read more

Behind the scenes with Brilliant Botany’s Claire Hopkins

Many scientists are exploring the use of videos and video blogs (vlogs) for science communication. I asked Claire Hopkins, creator of the Brilliant Botany videos and website, how she got started making science videos and if she has any advice for getting started in science communication.  Here are her replies. (I also invite you to … Read more

SURF’s Up with Maria Sorkin on Imgur

Maria Sorkin is a 2015 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship recipient with ASPB. As part of the program all SURFers must communicate their research with non-experts (preferably peers)  in an engaging manner. So Maria created the Imgur post: My ASPB SURF Plant Biology Research Project In her post, Maria explains, Last summer, I used my funds … Read more

Plant Biology 2016: An Interview with Harry Klee About the Major Symposia—Developing Healthier Foods: Quality, Nutrition, and Molecular Gastronomy

Harry Klee, Ph.D, University of Florida, has organized an important Major Symposia for the Plant Biology 2016 conference on developing healthier foods. Joining Dr. Klee for the sessions will be: Andy Allan, Ph.D, Plant and Food in New Zealand Linda Bartoshuk, Ph.D, University of Florida Cathie Martin, Ph.D,  John Innes Center Here are just a … Read more

I’m Plant Scientist Elizabeth Haswell and this is how I work

Bio: I am an Associate Professor of Biology at Washington University in Saint Louis. I grew up in eastern Washington State, did a BS in Biochemistry at University of Washington with Luca Comai and Ted Young. I receive a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of California San Francisco, working on yeast chromatin remodeling in … Read more

Fascination of Plants Day 2015 – Success Stories Published!

 Now available:  Fascination of Plants Day Success Stories 2015 Thanks to the voluntary contributions and hard work of many people in the plant science community around the world the Fascination of Plants Day (FoPD) 2015 was a huge success.  This publication celebrates how so much diversity –  in terms of individual demographics, activity content and … Read more

I’m Plant Scientist Andrew Willoughby, and this is how I work

Location: University of Oklahoma Current job/title: Undergraduate Academic Assistant One word that describes how you work: Sophomoric Favorite thing you do at work: Floral Dip Transformations Favorite plant: Colocasia esculenta (ed.– Wikipedia page on this plant). One interesting project you have been working on: It’s completely tangential to my lab’s main focus but right now … Read more

March/April President’s Letter: Your Society Needs Your Vote!

Because of publication deadlines, I started to write this newsletter the day before the Iowa caucuses. International members of the Society may be unfamiliar with the somewhat bizarre procedure whereby the people of the state of Iowa select their preferred choices for presidential nominee for both major parties, and I would bet that many in … Read more

Apply: Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists

Are you too Early-Career to win something in Stockholm this December? Maybe not… This Prize was created to recognize that global economic health is dependent upon a vibrant research community and we need to encourage our best and brightest to continue in their chosen fields of research. Deadline:  August 1, 2016 About the Prize Science/AAAS … Read more

Solanum watneyi & an Oscar-worthy performance by a plant scientist

Dr. Chris Martine (Bucknell University) discovered a species of Australian bush tomato and named it after Mark Watney, the main character of Hollywood blockbuster, The Martian (based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name). As a scientist dedicated to eliminating society’s tendency toward ‘plant blindness,‘ Chris took this opportunity to trumpet how very non-optional … Read more