Spread the word! UChicago BSD is currently searching for an instructional professor (open rank) to help develop and support graduate training in quantitative biology at UChicago. This is an Instructional Professor position (open rank). apply.interfolio.com/183517.
Here is how to submit a talk (due today!) to #Evol2026 . I had trouble figuring this out.
Promotional graphic with a tropical leaf border for International Plant Appreciation Day, April 13, 2026. Features the PlantingScience logo and heading "Teacher Quote." A quote bubble contains a testimonial from Frances Lash describing a student who became fascinated with flower form and structure through the program, with the closing line "That student's experience elevated the whole class." Bottom text reads "Support student botanical science exploration with a donation to PlantingScience.org today!" Includes a Donate Here label and QR code.
Behind every inspired student is a teacher who made it possible. 🌿
This teacher's fond memory captures exactly what PlantingScience makes possible, and why we cannot afford to let it disappear.
Please donate today: crm.botany.org/makeadonation
#IPAD2026 #PlantingScience #IamaBotanist #STEM 🌿
Plot showing GRFP awards by directorate shows a big dip last year and major increases for engineering and biology (though this only brings it back to parity with 2024).
The NSF GRFP is now out! There are 2,599 awardees, which is the most ever—and a big shift from last year which initially halved awardees (1,000 awardees + an additional 500).
I've thrown together a plot to break down the changes by field.
www.research.gov/grfp/Awardee...
It's a BIG DAY! Abstracts are due and we celebration International Plant Appreciation Day! #IPAD2026 #BOTANY2026
Don't forget wealthier. NIH and NSF are huge economic engines as well.
Awesome news!
Pretty? More like pretty nasty. Lesser Celandine is a very aggressive invasive species that is becoming dominant along the riverbanks in Chicago. It completely blankets the ground. I saw a few Trout Lilies but they likely will be choked out soon.
Redbud trees are spectacular early-flowering trees in the Bluegrass and much of the Eastern Deciduous Forest. They beautiful, and also have some complex flowering behavior that I don't fully understand. Have a look at the story (open to everyone).
Chicago White Sox pope hats giveaway
In the running for greatest giveaway of all time
Looking forward to #Evol2026 in Cleveland!
Last summer I lost my favorite Costa sunglasses while doing field work in a remnant oak savannah. I absolutely loved these glasses and spent a ton of time looking for them. Here we are a year later and I found them today! ...after a prescribed burn. So I treated myself to Dairy Queen to cheer up.
Genomic approaches to accelerate American chestnut restoration | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 🧬🧪
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Bring back the pollinators.
Square promotional graphic for Botany 2026 featuring a desert illustration with cacti and flowers inside a circular badge. Text reads: “Biodiversity at the Boundaries. Botany 2026. August 1–5. Tucson, Arizona.” Below: “Call for abstracts now open! Deadline April 13, 2026.” Website: botanyconference.org. Logos of participating botanical societies appear along the bottom.
The #Botany2026 Call for Abstracts is OPEN!
Join 1,000+ botanical scientists to share research, spark collaborations, & explore this year’s theme: Biodiversity at the Boundaries.
Submission Deadline: April 13, 2026
Submit abstract here: www.xcdsystem.com/botany/abstr...
www.botanyconference.org
Image Text: Plant BLOOME 2025 ASPB's Plant Biology Learning Objectives, Outreach Materials & Education Grant. Grant Submission deadline: April 24, 2026. Apply Now! Featuring ASPB and BLOOME logo.
🚨Opportunity Alert: ASPB wants to share and fund your plant curriculum materials! Receive up to $8500 to create and disseminate classroom activities & labs that support teaching the Principles for Teaching Plant Biology.🌱
👉 Learn more and apply by April 24: buff.ly/21u2H27!
#PlantScience
Applications due Monday for the T. H. Huxley Award, which recognizes high-quality evolution education resources! The recipient will have the opportunity to attend and present their work at the NABT meeting in October or #Evol2026 in June. Apply today! bit.ly/2kP2pPM
Uppsala in late autumn
Join us at the Evolutionary Biology Centre at Uppsala University. We’re searching for an Assistant Professor in Biology. www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
If you have developed outreach/education resources and want to get the word out— @sse-evolution.bsky.social has a deadline coming up for funding to present at an education focused session/conference. Grad students and Postdocs are very welcome to apply! evolutionsociety.org/index.php?mo...
Students in my CURE @loyolachicago.bsky.social have been busy setting up their experiments comparing microbiome interactions between native and invasive legumes. It's single digits outside here in Chi-beria but feels like spring in our rooftop greenhouse!
Please consider applying for the Huxley Award if you have developed evolution teaching or outreach resources. I'm on the award committee and happy to answer any questions.
What can trees teach us about history and legacy?🌳In an exclusive PEOPLE essay, Beronda Montgomery, ASPB Fellow, reflects on how trees bear witness to Black history, memory, and survival. people.com/beronda-mont...
#PlantScience
NSF building on Eisenhower Av. HUD now owns.
Destroying the NSF mural in the foyer. Of the Eisenhower building.
The National Science Foundation sign on our Eisenhower Av building is now gone.
The NSF mural in the foyer is removed and torn off in sheets.
We were supposed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the agency in May 2025. That never happened.
I had a great time presenting at the Plant and Animal Genome conference and visiting with so many awesome folks. Lots of cool science! #PAG33
Will do!
The window for #application to our TBS grants closes Jan 15, so don't forget, and don't miss it! Get those applications in soon - we have #grants for undergrads, masters and PhD students alike to fund research, training and symposia! Apply here: www.torreybotanical.org/grants-awards/
🧪🌎🌿🍄🌾 #botany
Call for manuscript submissions for a new special issue in Environmental and Experimental Botany entitled "Ecophysiology of metal and metalloid hyperaccumulator plants".
Submission deadline is 1 August 2026
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Come and join me and my colleagues at the Department of Biology, #LundUniversity in #sweden! We have am open position as Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor in Biodiversity.
Apply here no later than February 11 2026:
lu.varbi.com/en/what:job/jobID:848749...
Happy new year from northern Michigan.
