Senior astrobiology major McKenna Taylor and senior general biology major Lucy Turner were each recognized with 2nd place awards at the meeting of the Southern Section of the American Society of Plant Biologists in Raleigh, North Carolina in late March.
The 86th annual meeting included biologists and students from 14 states comprising the section: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Florida Tech Provost John Z. Kiss, an accomplished scientist whose research focuses on the gravitational and space biology of plants, was the conference’s opening keynote speaker. As pictured, he presented, “Growing Beyond the Earth: Phototropism & Gravitropism in Space.”
Associate professor of biological sciences Andrew Palmer, who led the Florida Tech group at the conference, said the students’ departments, Astronomy, Physics and Space Sciences and Ocean Engineering and Marine Science, respectively, should be proud.
“These are two amazing students,” he said.
Taylor’s posted was on bacteria from the International Space Station, “The use of International Space Station Derived mixed cultures to Improve Plant Growth.” Turner’s was about freshwater algae, “Potential involvement of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii chromosome 16 in quorum sensing.”
This is the fifth year in a row Florida Tech students have won awards at this conference.
“It’s incredible that Florida Tech students have earned an award for five consecutive years at this conference — what a consistent achievement!” said Chief Research Officer Hamid Rassoul. “It’s exciting to see our students making such an impact.”
