-Magdalen Lindeberg

Cornell faculty and graduate students welcomed girls in grades 7-9 to campus April 15 to learn about STEM and discover role models in the fields of science and mathduring The Cornell Expanding Your Horizons conference.

Participating SIPS research groups included horticulture graduate students in the Bauerle Lab — Annika Huber, Juana Muñoz Ucros, and Marie Zwetsloot — who led workshop sessions on “Engineers of Nature: How do plants drink?”

Alyssa Blanchez, Martha Sudermann, Zoe Dubrow, and Mary McKellar from the Section of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology led the “Somebody Call the Plant Doctor” workshop – introducing  students to plant diseases and the use of Koch’s Postulates to identify their causes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ed Cobb led a tour of selected plants found in the Liberty Hyde Bailey Conservatory. Highlights included learning about the biology of cacti, a visit to the parasitic plants, and an introduction to economically important plants growing in the conservatory such as coffee, vanilla, pineapple, and citrus. Participants also learned about the life and achievements of Cornell graduate and Nobel Laureate, Barbara McClintock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post-graduate society of the Boyce Thompson Institute hosted the “Genetic Freaks” Workshop, demonstrating genetic recombination using plants and candy bugs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Learn More:

• 2017 Expanding your Horizons workshops – a complete list
• CALS coverage of the “Engineers of Nature: How do Plants Drink?” workshop