Welcome to the Botany Department!

Welcome to the Botany Department at Oklahoma State University. We are a dynamic group devoted to understanding plant biology, from molecules to ecosystems. Our faculty have comprehensive research programs, and regularly publish in top tier journals. We are committed to excellence in teaching, and we provide opportunities for research experiences for our undergraduates. The Graduate Program includes master’s and doctoral degrees. Explore why OSU is the place to study plants!

The Botany Department Office has moved to 301 Physical Sciences. Several faculty have moved their offices and labs over to the 3rd and 4th floors of Physical Sciences. We also have two new classrooms in Physical Science where we will teach Ecology, Field Botany, Taxonomy, and other courses. Botany faculty continue to reside in the basement of Life Science East and the 2nd floor of Life Science West, with a few faculty in the new Henry Bellmon Research Center. The OSU Herbarium continues to be housed in the LSE basement.

 

Wavy Leaf Thistle Seed
Dwayne Elmore
2011 OSUBS Photo Contest
3rd place

Linda Watson and Mark Fishbein, professors in the Botany Department at OSU, are currently serving as officers of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists.  Dr. Watson was Treasurer for five years before being elected President.  Dr. Fishbein was an elected Council member for three years before being appointed Secretary at the end of his term.  ASPT is a national organization of ~1400 members including international colleagues (www.aspt.net).  The Society is organized to promote research and education in the fields of plant taxonomy and systematics.  It publishes a quarterly journal, Systematic Botany, which is ranked in the top 100 journals in biology and medicine; and it publishes the Systematic Botany Monograph series. 

David Meinke, Regents Professor of Botany, was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for his project "Role of Chloroplast Gene Expression in Plant Growth and Development."

OCAST research grants were renewed for Bill Henley, studying the use of algae for biofuels; Mark Fishbein, studying the phylogenomics of anti-insect defenses in milkweeds; and Andrew Doustand Janette Steets, studying the use of foxtail millet to improve drought resistance in biofuel grasses.

Channing Richardson, Botany Ph.D. student, and his advisor Mike Palmer were awarded a new research grant from the US Forest Service on "The effects of prescribed burning on epiphtic bryophytes in the Ouachita National Forest of Oklahoma."

Alex Hardison, Botany undergraduate, was selected as an
OK-LSAMP research scholar for the 2011-12 academic year.

Wyatt Sharber (Botany/Zoology B.S.) was awarded the Lisa D. Anness Graduate Fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. in tropical systematics at the University of Miami Dept. of Biology.

Lydia Meador was awarded a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to be used in her Ph.D. studies at Arizona State University.

Ron Tyrl, Botany Emeritus Professor, was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame on October 11, 2011 at the Jim Thorpe Museum in Oklahoma City. For more information, see Awards page.

 

 

News & Announcements

BOTANY SEMINAR SPEAKER -- Prof. Dr. Dan Cogalniceanu from the University Ovidius Constanta, Romania will speak about "The Importance of the Danube Delta for the Improvement of the Black Sea Environment" on Wed., May 2 at 12:30 pm in 108 NRC. Cogalniceanu is a Fulbright Scholar working with Regents Professor Michael Palmer.

Botany graduate students, AJ Harris and Angela Rein, Ph.D. Plant Sciences students, have been awarded Student Stipend and Travel Awards to attend a workshop organized by TORCH, the Texas-Oklahoma Regional Consortium of Herbaria (http://www.torcherbaria.org).  This workshop, held at the OU Biological Station on Lake Texoma, will provide training in database software used by natural history museums throughout the U.S.  This is the second year that these two students were selected to attend a TORCH workshop.  Mark Fishbein, Botany Professor, is on the Steering Committee for the Consortium and will also attend.

Nadjeschda Goertz , Botany undergraduate, was awarded the Botany Scholarship for Fall 2012. She is employed as a research assistant in the lab of Andrew Doust, assistant professor of Botany. Ms. Goertz plans to become a doctor and practice in a hospital, clinic, or research laboratory.

Wyatt Sharber, B.S. Botany Summer 2011, has been named Outstanding Botany Senior for 2011-12. Wyatt was awarded the Lisa D. Anness Graduate Fellowship and is pursuing a Ph.D. in tropical systematics at the University of Miami Dept. of Biology.

AJ Harris, Plant Science Ph.D. student, has been awarded an EAPSI Fellowship from the National Science Foundation. This 8-week summer program will allow her to travel to China to conduct field and lab work at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou with Prof. Chengxin Fu, Head of the Laboratory of Systematic & Evolutionary Botany and Biodiversity.

Josh McLoud has been awarded a Bridge to Doctorate Fellowship from the Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, funded by the National Science Foundation. Josh will enter the Botany M.S. program this summer and work under Ming Yang in the area of cell and molecular biology.

Nicole Bryant and Molly Parkhust, graduate students in the Department of Botany, have also been awarded the Bridge to Doctorate Fellowship. Mollywill earn her Botany M.S. degree this summer and begin her Plant Science Ph.D. work with Janette Steets in the area of plant population genetics. Nicole will continue work on her Botany M.S. degree with David Meinke in the area of plant molecular genetics.

Ben Haack, Botany undergraduate, has been awarded a $4500 Wentz Scholarship for Fall 2012. He will be working with Mark Fishbein on "The Use of Nuclear Genes in Phylogenetic Analysis of the Sonoran Desert Clade of Milkweeds (Asclepias).

The J. K. McPherson Memorial Fund grants for Spring 2012 have been awarded to Lupita Borja and Molly Parkhurst. Lupita is a M.S. student, studying with Andrew Doust. She will be doing fieldwork throughout Oklahoma and central Texas sampling multiple populations of Paysonia auriculata. Molly is travelling to Puerto Rico in order to collect Paysonia auriculata accessions to complete her master's research. She studies with Janette Steets and Yinghua Huang.

Contact Information

Oklahoma State University, Department of Botany, 301 Physical Science, Stillwater, OK 74078-3013
E-mail: botany@okstate.edu, Telephone: (405) 744-5559, Fax: (405) 744-7074