Japan, a Moss Walk, a New Website, and Busyness Galore!

Apologies for my recent lack of posting. I am currently in the throes of preparing for a trip to Japan. I was awarded a summer internship through the National Science Foundation's (NSF) East Asia Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI). I will be spending 10-weeks in Japan working with Dr. Hasebe's lab group at the National Institute for Basic Biology in Okazaki. I will be working with some mutant strains of Physcomitrella patens and running experiments on them. Yes you heard it right, Mutant Mosses. Now I can truly become a mad scientist with a cackling laugh and messy hair! Not to worry though the mutants will not be leaving the lab and they would not try to take over and conquer the world even if they did manage to escape.

I will have internet access while I am in the lab, so I am hoping to keep up with blog posts from Japan. I am planning to visit the city of Kyoto where there are a number of temples that are surrounded by moss gardens. I am hoping to stretch my camera's legs/lens from its photo taking hiatus and get some pretty pictures to post on the blog. I will also be in a number of major cities and it is always fun to hunt for urban mosses. They can grow in some of the oddest nooks and crannies. Additionally, there will be a workshop all about cool lab techniques for Physcomitrella patens held at the lab I will be visiting while in Japan. It should be a great learning experience and put me in touch will many moss researchers across the country. Hopefully I will have fun stories about the mosses and the moss biologists that I meet over the summer.

Also I have updated my personal University Webpage and it has a whole new look. Check it out and let me know what you think. Any comments or critiques are welcome. I have to say a special thanks to my sister who is a graphic designer and gave me assistance/pointers when making the website.

Finally, before I leave I will be leading a short moss walk this upcoming Saturday (June 14th) 11am-12noon at the Goodwin Conservation Center in Hampton, Connecticut, located in the James L. Goodwin State Forest. This is the 4th year that I will be leading a walk at Goodwin, but the last year that I will be working with Emily Komiskey, one of the outdoor educators who is also a graduate student at UConn. Goodwin just won't be the same without you Em! On Saturday the weather forecast is looking much more comfortable than today, partly cloudy skies and 79F for the high. Hope to see you there!

Click here for a link to more details and directions to the moss walk at Goodwin.