Northern California Botanists



	Home :: Research Scholarships Research Scholarships Botany Research Scholarship Program Northern California Botanists provides competitive botany and plant ecology research scholarships to undergraduate and graduate students attending a college and university. Research scholarships will be funded by NCB with the goals of encouraging undergraduate students to pursue academic endeavors toward a career in botany, promoting undergraduate and graduate botany and plant ecology research, and implementing objectives of the NCB mission. The geographic range for defining the Northern California Botanists (NCB) area of interest for student research scholarships includes the area extending northward--from the southern boundary of San Luis Obispo County and western slope of the Tehachapi Mountains, following the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, to the southern boundary of Mono County. Students from any accredited college or university doing research within the NCB geographic range may apply for NCB student research scholarships. Research scholarships consist of $1,000 awards, designed to support basic undergraduate and graduate research. Students may reapply and receive a scholarship award up to a maximum of two years for undergraduates and graduates pursuing a Masters degree and up to a maximum of four years for graduate students pursuing a Doctorate degree. 2013-2014 Research Scholarship Applications Available now! NCB is now accepting applications for the 2013-2014 academic year. Applications must be submitted to NCB by midnight March 31, 2013. Questions concerning the preparation and submission of the scholarship research proposal forms and the administration of the scholarship program should be sent to ncbotanists@gmail.com. 2013-2014 Research Scholarship Application Attention Students with research relevant to the flora of Shasta, Lassen, Modoc, and Siskiyou counties!! The Shasta Chapter of the California Native Plant Society will fund an additional NCB scholarship in the amount of $1,000. The research topic must be relevant to the flora within the boundaries of the Shasta Chapter (Shasta, Lassen, Modoc, and Siskiyou counties), with preference given to topics concerning rare species or communities. For more information, visit the Shasta Chapter webpage and click on the Applications Tab. Students that have graduated from a high school or community college in the Shasta Chapter area may be given preferential consideration. Please indicate in your cover letter that you qualify for the Shasta Chapter scholarship. You will be contacted if more information is needed. Congratulations to our 2012-2013 Scholarship Recipients We received 44 applications from fifteen different collegse and universities this Spring. As before, we received many very good proposals and it was hard narrowing it down to the final awardee list. For the 2012-2013 school year, we will be awarding seven proposals which includes a two-person undergraduate research team. Congratulations to the eight students and thank you to all that submitted applications! Individual awards are $1,000 scholarships. We will be fully funding the undergraduate team proposal for $1680. We are pleased to announce the awardees, along with their degree program and college or university, and the title of their research project. You may read more about their research in our Fall 2012 Newsletter. Jennifer Balachowski Ph.D. University of California, Davis Restoring for the future: evolutionary ecology of Elymus glaucus, and composite provenancing as a tool for native grassland restoration. Juliana Moreno & Leena McCann Undergraduates Santa Clara University Sympatric speciation in northern California columbines. Meghan Parish M. S. Sonoma State University Functional traits, disturbance, and invasion: response of exotic grasses to mowing and herbicide in an invaded California grassland. Lee Ripma M. S. San Diego State University A phylogenetic analysis of the plant genus Cryptantha Oreocarya group (Boraginaceae). Sean Ryan M.S. San Diego State University Molecular phylogeny and character evolution of Fritillaria subgenus Liliorhiza (Liliaceae). Brett Smith M.S. University of California, Santa Cruz Gene flow and hybridization in a rare, serpentine endemic Monardella. Jens Stevens Ph.D. University of California, Davis Interacting effects of snowpack, fire, and forest management on plant invasions in the Sierra Nevada. Past Recipients 2011-2012 Meredith Gosejohan M.S. University of Nevada, Reno Plant community dynamics in Modoc Plateau vernal pools: evaluating ecohydrology, vegetation structure, and Orcuttia tenius seed bank distribution. Kristie Haydu M.S. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Modeling plant biodiversity hot spots in San Luis Obispo County. Diana Jolles Ph. D. Claremont Graduate University Foliar and floral adaptations to environmental heterogeneity among cryptic lineages of the Pyrola picta species complex (Ericaceae). Rosa Schneider M. S. San Francisco State University Investigating causes of rarity in an endemic wetland thistle. Rebecca Stubbs M. S. San Francisco State University From sea level to mountain peaks: the evolution and biogeography of the rare Polemoniums. Marit Wilkerson Ph.D. University of California, Davis Plant invasion in conservation linkages: what have we been overlooking?. Jenn Yost Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz Edaphic adaptations and speciation in California goldfields. 2010-2011 Carla Fresquez Ph. D. University of California, Santa Cruz High marsh—upland ecotonal community dynamics: seed bank analysis and native and non-native germination and seedling physiological tolerances. Barbara Going Ph. D. University of California, Davis Climate change and California grassland: are some communities more resistant than others? Matt Guilliams Ph. D. University of California, Berkeley Phylogenetic relationships and ecological speciation of the popcorn flowers (Plagiobothrys, Boraginaceae). Tim Hanson M. S. California State University, Chico Assessing the ecology and life history traits of a rare California endemic, Monardella douglasii ssp. venosa (Lamiaceae). Allison Kidder Ph. D. University of California, Berkeley Water relations of Baccharis pilularis DC seedling establishment in a changing climate. Luc Lagarde M. S. Humboldt State University Developing tools for the estimation of the impact of invasive Spartina densiflora on the primary productivity of a Northern California salt marsh. Susan Magnoli M. S. Sonoma State University Residual and community-level effects of iceplant on a coastal dune ecosystem in California. 2009-2010 Erin Gottschalk-Fisher M. S. California State University, Chico Sacramento Wildlife Refuge Complex vernal pool restoration for Neostapfia colusana and Tuctoria greenei. Dena Grossenbacher Ph. D. University of California, Davis A test of pollinator-mediated community assemblage patterns in three California genera: Limnanthes, Mimulus, and Clarkia. Maya Hayden Ph. D. University of California, Berkeley Abandoned channels as an alternate recruitment pathway for pioneer riparian forest. Jeremiah Mann Ph. D. University of California, Davis Pre-commercial screening of the leading biofuel crop Miscanthus X giganteus for invasive plant traits. Michal Shuldman Ph. D. University of California, Berkeley Differences in plant functional traits between multiple populations of Heteromeles arbutifolia. Jenn Yost Ph. D. University of California, Santa Cruz Relationships among Dudleya species: the role of hybridization and polyploidy in speciation. Johann Zaroli Senior. San Jose State University Assessing the impact of nutrient enrichment on native and invasive species in California's serpentine grasslands. 2008-2009 Gavin Archbald M.S. San Francisco State University Evaluating the potential for spread of an invasive forb, Limonium ramosissimum, in San Francisco Bay salt marshes. Christopher Dolanc Ph.D. University of California, Davis Current and future vegetation change in Sierran subalpine due to changing climate. Steven Johnston M.S. Sonoma State University Evolutionary ecology of a host-pathogen interaction in California woodlands. Laura Saunders M.S. Sonoma State University The effects of mammalian herbivory on the growth and establishment of oaks. Lisa Schile Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley Tidal wetland vegetation response to climate change in the San Francisco Bay-Delta. Marit Wilkerson Ph.D. University of California, Davis Downsides to habitat corridors' potential for exotic plant invasion. Cara Witte M.S. Humboldt State University Floristic inventory of Horse Mtn., Board Camp Mtn., and surrounding areas, with special consideration to plants on serpentine outcrops.