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

Apply: Project Kaleidoscope Summer Leadership Institute for STEM Faculty

ASPB partners with the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Science Education (PULSE) community on various initiatives. With PULSE, Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) is offering three sessions of a Summer 2016 institute at The Claggett Center in Adamstown, Maryland, for early and mid-career STEM faculty. Applications due March 11, 2016. Session Options: Institute I: July 12–July 17 Institute … 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