AEPS 515: Professional Development for the Plant Sciences

Liana developed this practical and skills-focused course when she arrived at Penn State to meet the needs of the newly formed Applied and Environmental Plant Sciences Graduate Program, but the class also often serves Huck Plant Biology and Ecology Program students. She teaches it each fall at PSU.

COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

• Learn about and create an Individual Development Plan
• Build (or further develop) a professional web presence
• Increase science communication and visualization skills
• Explore possible careers via in-class panels & informational interviews
• Draft essential documents for future job applications
• Gain comfort discussing Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion issues (3 hours of SARI credit)
• Give and receive feedback on work in progress

Grantwriting Workshops for Graduate Students

For the past three years, Liana and Terry Bell, and now Jill Hamilton have offered workshop series designed to help graduate students develop grant writing and peer review skills. The most recent series offered in Spring 2022 supported 15 students as they developed USDA predoctoral grant proposals.

The Evolution and Ecology of Extreme Environments

As a fifth-year graduate student at Duke University, Liana had the opportunity via the BioBass teaching fellowship to design and teach my own upper-level seminar course. Because of my fascination with life cycle variation, I chose to develop a class all about the diversity of organismal adaptations to environmental variation! (Course Materials )

PLANT461: Emerging Issues in the Plant Sciences

Upon arriving at Penn State, Liana was tasked with developing a fall section of the senior capstone course for the Plant Science major. The small class size, discussion, and group project-based aspects of this course bring me right back to my liberal arts college roots. She teaches it each Fall at PSU.

COURSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

• broaden understanding of the range and complexity of emerging issues in the plant sciences
• practice application of scientific, technical, and quantitative approaches to solve plant science problems in an ecological and agricultural context
• increase ability to examine plant science issues through written, oral, and visual communication
• critically evaluate and respect different viewpoints in decision making and in particular analyze ethical issues in plant science, ecosystem sustainability, and business practices

Lab Member Teaching Highlights

• Ecology Graduate Student Jenn Harris TAed for ‘Gardening for Fun and Profit’ and Guest Lectured for Emerging Issues in the Plant Sciences
• Plant Biology Graduate Student Lily Cherry TAed for Plant Propagation
• AEPS Student Patrick Sydow TAed for Plant Genetics and Plant Nutrition
• Plant Biology Graduate Student Maria Alejandra Gil-Polo TAed for AgroEcology
• Post Doc Sohini Guha Guest Lectured for Plant Physiology