PROGRAM IN PLANT BIOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

PhD student, Elliot Gardner, was awarded the 2013 American Society of Plant Taxonomists Graduate Student Research Award for his dissertation research focused on population genetics and species limits of Artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco (Moraceae) ($800).

PhD student, Kelly Ksiazek, was awarded the 2013 Prairie Biotic Research Inc. Award ($1,000) for her research: "Can designing green roofs as prairie analogs increase habitat for native species?" v

PhD student, Aleks Radosavljevic, has been awarded a one year Smithsonian Curatorial Graduate Fellowship. He will be assisting in collections improvement in the Botany Department at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC during 2013 –14, while continuing work on  his research focused on the systematics, biogeography, and taxonomic revision of the legume genusCynometra ($27,000).

MS student, Corey Palmer is the recipient of the 2013 Garden Club of America Fellowship in Ecological Restoration. Corey has been awarded $8,000 for her research which focuses on land management strategies in prairie restorations and how they affect soil quality.  

PhD student, Elliot Gardner, was awarded the 2013 Systematics Research Fund Award (jointly administered by the Linnean Society and the Systematics Association) for his dissertation research focused on population genetics and species limits of Artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco(Moraceae) ($1,500).

Matthew Rhodes was awarded a 2013 Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research for $500 to support his Master's research focusing on how temporal variation in pollinator community structure influences reproductive dynamics and pollen movement in Oenothera harringtonii, an evening primrose endemic to southeastern Colorado, USA. His Master's advisor is Krissa Skogen.

PhD student, Kelly Ksiazek, was awarded the 2013 Illinois State Academy of Science Student Research Grant ($500) for her research in Chicago: "Can designing green roofs as Illinois prairie analogs increase urban ecosystem services?"

MS student Anne Nies was awarded the Fred Case Grant ($1,000) by the Native Orchid Society for her work that focuses on orchids and their mycorrhizal associations as they relate to various land management approaches (2013).

Congratulations to PhD student, Elliot Gardner, for receiving honorable mention in the Science in Society 2013 Scientific Images Contest. He will receive a cash prize and his photo of a stunning Artocarpus lanceifolius stamen with pollen will be feat

Congratulations to Lauren Umek (PhD student)! She has been awarded a Presidential Fellowship from Northwestern University's Graduate School (2013) for her research on investigating the effects of exotic plant invasion and restoration on plant communities and soil processes. Her research supervisor is Dr. Louise Egerton-Warburton. The fellowships are the most prestigious fellowship at Northwestern and are awarded to a very limited number of graduate students each year.

DeLong, J.R., Swarts, N., Dixon, K.W., and Egerton-Warburton, L.M. (2013). Mycorrhizal preference promotes habitat invasion by a native Australian orchid: Microtis media.  Annals of Botany 111: 409-418.

MS student, Erin Vander Stelt, was awarded the 2013 North Central Chapter Research Grant from the Society of Wetland Scientists, for her thesis research focused on factors influencing population dynamics in Isoëtes butleri, an endangered wetland spec