Students Awarded, Lauded at Plant Biology Conference
Students from ocean engineering and marine science, biomedical engineering and science and aerospace, physics and space sciences attended the regional meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in Alabama this spring and left with great awards, experiences and advice.
Though Florida Tech does not have a plant biology program, “we had one of the strongest showings in terms of attendance as well as awards,” said Andrew Palmer, associate professor of biological sciences who led the Florida Tech team at the conference.
The university snagged two awards:
Senior astrobiology major Kara Smoak and junior astrobiology major Aiden Kelly placed 3rd for their poster, “Testing Bacterial Isolates from the ISS for their Plant Growth Promoting Abilities.”
Sergio Solano, a master’s student in cell and molecular biology, placed 3rd in the oral presentations for his talk, “Evaluating the Use of Aquatic Plants in Martian Agriculture.”
Another highlight was meeting Katie Dehesh, former president of the American Society of Plant Biologists who was at the conference as an invited speaker. Palmer said she came around and shook the hands of every Florida Tech undergrad, commending them on how they conducted themselves.
She later told Palmer she would love to see some of them apply to her lab at the University of California Riverside.
