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Name: Jon Monroe
Title: Associate Professor
Place of work: Department of Biology, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Research area: Starch hydrolases in Arabidopsis
Member since: Mid-1980s

1. Has being a member helped you in your career? If so, how?
   Most certainly! Careers develop from what and whom we know, and ASPB facilitates learning and connecting with influential people. As an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, I worked in the Natural Science library and spent a lot of spare time reading plant journals. I know that had a huge impact on my career. As a grad student, postdoc, and professor, I think my association with ASPB has been just as important. Outside my institution, most of the people I interact with are members of ASPB or the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) or both. Similarly, many of the activities I've been involved with over the years have been through ASPB and CUR.
2. Why has membership in ASPB been so important?
   At a primarily undergraduate institution, one can feel isolated, so my association with ASPB has helped me stay connected with the larger community. In my position I spend a lot of time teaching and mentoring undergraduate researchers. I don't spend as much time reading and thinking about science as I would like to. The national ASPB meeting jump-starts me every year and has helped me make and keep a lot of great friends.
3. Was anyone instrumental in getting you to join ASPB?
   I don't remember that far back! I do remember getting the journals (back when they had that lovely pea-green cover). Putting them on my shelf made me feel like I was a real scientist!
4. What would you tell nonmembers to encourage them to join?
   I think all scientists should belong to a professional society because societies serve important functions that need to be supported. One should not just add up the tangible benefits when deciding to join. I don't know that ASPB is any better or worse than any other similar organization, but I like it.
5. Have you gotten a job using ASPB job postings or through networking at the annual meeting?
   No, but that doesn't mean it isn't important.
6. Do you still read print journals? Where do you usually read them: work, home, library, in the car, on the bus?
   Yes, but it is now a lot easier to find papers using the web. I think I read more at home than at work. I like the print versions of Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell because I often stumble across something valuable that I would not have searched for or had the patience to find reading online.
7. What do you think is the next "big thing" in plant biology?
   I'm still getting over the fact that whole genomes are being sequenced!
8. What person, living or dead, do you most admire?
   The late Herb Wagner, a plant systematist and teacher extraordinaire, was a major influence in my becoming a plant biologist. Sharon Long and Richard McCarty are two of my scientific idols. They, like Herb, have a gift for speaking without thinking about their egos.
9. What are you reading these days?
   Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell, of course! I am also reading The Trouble with Testosterone (Sapolsky), Natural History magazine, and the Washington Post—after my daughters get done with it.
10. Do you have any hobbies?
    Cooking, backpacking, cycling, and music—Celtic and folk. (Current favorites are Great Big Sea, SOLAS, and Eddie from Ohio. Check them out!)
11. What is your most treasured possession?
    Hard to say. I try not to put too much value on personal possessions.
12. What do you still have left to learn?
    If I knew, I wouldn't have as much fun searching for it.