EDUCATION FORUM

SURFer Kelli Pattavina enjoys one of the many benefits of attending Plant Biology 2009 in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Plant Biology 2009
SURFers Catch the Wave of Scientific Progress

Plant Biology 2009 in Honolulu was invaded by SURFers! You don’t recall hordes of beach bums walking the halls and attending the symposia? That’s because these SURFers actually were the 2008 recipients of the Society’s prestigious Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF). These excellent students received their fellowships in 2008 (or, in one case, 2007), performed their research over the past year, and presented their findings in posters at the meetings in Honolulu. The students came from large R1 universities as well as smaller, primarily undergraduate institutions located all over the United States and also from Argentina and China.

The young SURFers had a variety of activities designed to make sure they could navigate the many currents of such a large meeting. These activities were led by SURF cochairs Ken Helm and Jon Monroe. Jon, a past cochair, stepped in to assist since Amy Clore, the other SURF cochair, could not attend the meeting. SURF cofounder Mark Brodl was also involved in the fun.

To encourage the undergraduates (SURFers and non-SURFers alike) to meet one another and highlight their remarkable accomplishments, there was an undergraduate networking poster session at the very beginning of the meeting. Students, their mentors, and others interested in undergraduate research attended the session. ASPB past president Rob McClung made a brief and humorous welcoming speech to the students letting them know what to expect at the meeting. He also encouraged them to come back year after year as he has done.

The quality and breadth of the work presented at the poster session was truly impressive. In addition, it appeared the session accomplished the goal of providing a forum for networking and simply getting to know one another before being immersed in the much larger, potentially overwhelming general poster session. Throughout the meeting, the undergraduate students could be found at their posters, chatting with others, and attending the various symposia and minisymposia. Ken had the opportunity to speak with several of them about their experiences, and everyone he talked to found the meetings to be a valuable, enriching, and enjoyable experience. ASPB and SURF organizers certainly hope that the meetings in particular and the research experience in general encourage each of these fine students to pursue careers in plant biology.

Finally, when it was time to wrap up the meetings, the students were presented with perhaps the most daunting task of all: dancing with accomplished professional plant biologists from all over the world to their favorite tunes from the 80s. Our young scholars didn’t disappoint us. Quite a number of them could be seen boogying down to hits such as Thriller, YMCA, and, of course, the Electric Slide. May they carry the torch proudly.

Ken Helm
Siena College