Botany department faculty are actively engaged in research

Students, faculty and real-world research are all thriving in the new Science Center at New London Hall, opened in Fall 2013.

  • Professor Siver has projects on biogeography of algae and diatoms. He was awarded a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (#0716606) to for his project to document the effects of global warming on an arctic Eocene lake using siliceous microfossil remains.
  • Professor Owen completed a second National Science Foundation grant for $330,000 to purchase a new digital transmission electron microscope for research on plant endomembrane system flow. These projects use carnivorous plants and plant stem cells as model systems. He will also use the TEM to help other faculty with ultrastructural research projects.
  • Professor Lizarralde led a group of students in ethnobotanical research in Peru on a SATA program.
  • Professor Jones is conducting projects on invasive plants and their effects on local plant communities.
  • Professor Spicer was awarded by The National Science Foundation a three-year, $395,064 grant for research that addresses fundamental questions about how trees grow. The work has practical applications for biofuel development and forest generation.

Botany faculty also work closely with students in honors and independent study projects in botany, biology and environmental studies.