ASPB members share a common goal of promoting the growth, development, and outreach of plant biology as a pure and applied science. This column features some of the dedicated and innovative members of ASPB who believe that membership in our Society is crucial to the future of plant biology.

If you are interested in contributing to this feature, please contact ASPB at info@aspb.org.

Membership Corner

Name: Peter K. Hepler
Title: Research Professor of Biology, Ray Ethan Torrey Professor of Biology, Emeritus
Place of work or school: University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Research area: Plant cell biology; Calcium; Cell signaling; and the Cytoskeleton
Member since: 1976

1. Has being a member of ASPB helped you in your career? If so, how?
Being a member of ASPB has helped me connect with others thinking and working on similar problems. ASPB, of course, publishes not one, but two, of the most important journals covering areas of prime interest to me, namely, The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. Being a member puts those journals on my desk.

2. Why has being a member of ASPB been important?
By helping me to connect with the larger community, being a member of ASPB becomes important.

3. Was someone instrumental in getting you to join ASPB?
Yes; Eduardo Zeiger and I had submitted a paper to Plant Physiology in 1976, but neither of us was a member. Martin Gibbs, the editor of Plant Physiology, quickly informed me that being a member would facilitate the mechanics of publishing as well as reduce the cost.

4. What would you tell nonmembers to encourage them to join?
Again, I would emphasize the sense of community and of course the outstanding journals published by ASPB. But in addition, there are all sorts of perks, including the national meeting, the area meetings, and special meetings. There are interest groups, e.g., the Minority Affairs and Women in Plant Biology Committees, and there are mechanisms to support special activities, such as travel grants for students and the like. I think that ASPB is particularly effective in providing a supportive and inclusive atmosphere.

5. Have you gotten a job using ASPB job postings or through networking at the annual meeting?
Each time I advertise for a postdoc or technician, I always list the position with ASPB. These listings may have been important in some of my hires.

6. Have you hired anyone as a result of a job posting at the meeting or on our online Job Bank?
No.

7. Do you still read print journals? Where do you usually read them: work, home, library, in the car, on the bus?
Yes, indeed, I do read print journals. When browsing through the hard copy I often get ideas from reading articles that may be somewhat aside from the central line of interest, but which for one reason or another caught my attention. I read at work, home, and in the library; however, my most effective reading is at home, where there are fewer distractions.

8. What do you think is the next “big thing” in plant biology?
I see the next phase as one of putting the macromolecular complexes, which have been identified by the biochemists and molecular biologists, into a structural and physiological framework, and defining in biochemical and biophysical terms the mechanisms of growth and differentiation. For example, take actin microfilaments. We know a certain amount about where microfilaments are localized. We also know about several interacting proteins, and about local ionic environments that together control the polymerization and structure of microfilaments. However, we are still quite perplexed about how these factors work together within the cell and ultimately how it is that actin microfilaments achieve their many ascribed functions in plant growth and development.

9. What person, living or dead, do you most admire?
There have been many people who I admire and who in one way or another have been instrumental in helping me achieve my goals. My family has always been supportive and encouraging, as have my many mentors. I cannot pick a single person to identify as one I most admire.

10. What are you reading these days?
Shooting Star, by Wallace Stegner; Life & Times of Michael K, by J. M. Coetzee.

11. What are your hobbies?
Music, art, and outdoor activities. I attend several concerts, from chamber music to opera. I also play piano—poorly! I enjoy visiting museums. It is worth interjecting here that the travel—both home and abroad—made possible through our activities as plant biologists allows us to visit all sorts of places and to have a rich cultural experience. Finally, I enjoy a variety of outdoor activities, from rollerblading to cross-country skiing. I particularly enjoy mountain hikes with my family and friends.

12. What is your most treasured possession?
My family; but I don’t possess them.

13. What do you still have left to learn?
Nearly everything. What I have learned is minuscule relative to what there is to learn.