Botany News
Botany faculty in the news:
The National Science Foundation awarded Rachel Spicer, assistant professor of botany, a three-year, $395,064 grant in 2013 for research that addresses fundamental questions about how trees grow. The work has practical applications for biofuel development and forest generation and has provided advanced summer research opportunities for students.
Peter Siver, the Becker Professor of Botany, won the 2013 Gerald Prescott Award from the Phycological Society of America (PSA) for his book "Diatoms of North America: The Freshwater Flora of Waterbodies on the Atlantic Coastal Plain," coauthored with Paul Hamilton of the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.
Scott Warren, Jean C. Tempel '65 Professor Emeritus of Botany, received the William A. Niering Outstanding Educator Award from the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation at their annual conference in Portland, Oregon. Watch him discuss his tidal marsh research in this Nature Conservancy video "Connecticut Faces Behind the Data".
Alumni in the news:
Linda (Reddington) Lillie's company, Sprigs & Twigs, Inc of Gales Ferry, CT was awarded the “2010 Environmental Improvement Distinction Award” The Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) for their work on the “Cook Backyard Project” in East Lyme, Conn This national award is in recognition of a superior project executed by landscape professionals and was presented at the PLANET Green Industry Conference in Louisville, KY. Read more about this award in an article from The New London Day.
Carl Lewis '95 is the Director of the the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Carl, a geneticist, recently established the new genus Leucothrinax for the thatch palm. Read about his new excursion to study and conserve the palms of Micronesia! http://exploreplants.org/
Chris Sardella '93 won the Milken Family Foundation's National Educator Award. Sardella, a fifth grade teacher in Northborough, Massachusetts, plans on using the $25,000 award to pursue a doctorate in education while continuing to teach.
Department News:
The China Trade Bonsai Society of Southeastern Connecticut uses the New London Hall facilities of the botany department to hold their regular meetings.