Understanding plant water use in a changing climate
Plants have many ways of coping with climate change, but relocating to a more suitable climate is not one of them. Rather, they utilize multitudinous strategies to sense and respond to environmental stressors such as drought, heat, and elevated VPD. The PEPPER (Plant & Ecosystem Physiology, Potential and Environmental Research) Lab seeks to understand how plants regulate the balance between water loss and carbon uptake via the mechanisms of physiological responses and implications for ecosystem carbon.
Essay Prompt: Please write 1-2 paragraphs expressing your interested in plants and climate change research. Include any skills and products you'd like to develop in the PEPPER lab, as well as your career goals.
The PEPPER lab adores plants, loves data, and enjoys the great outdoors. Students will work in small teams to tackle projects ranging from field data collection, designing plant sensors, statistical analysis of existing data, and building tools to connect data with researchers (see PSInet job posting). Weekly lab meetings alternate between journal club and project updates, while social activities include field trips to local nature and hiking spots.