I work in the Agronomy Department's only Radioactive Analytical Organic Chemistry Lab. What is Agronomy? It encompasses a great many areas of study, but focuses mainly on those involved with crop plants, and the plants that plague them. It is affectionately termed "Weed Science".
My job is multi-faceted, as the lab is under staffed, and I help out wherever I'm needed, in addition to experiments I'm set run myself. I do everything from maintaining experimental plants, field work, and tractor work to all aspects of lab work.
This is my desk area, where I do all data analysis and quantification work, or the crossword puzzle du jour...depends how busy I am :).
I also find that this is the absolute best place to get all of my studying done.
This is Candace, who is working in our lab for the summer. She is a high school student who is working in a program that has them gain research experience by working in labs on campus. She is one of two students (the other is Adam, who dislike photos taken of him) assigned to our lab.
She is working on the physiological effects of glyphosate (active ingredient in "Round Up" herbicide) on the photosynthetic activities of plant cells. I don't look forward to her leaving-she is good company, and, well..I'll be taking over her work when she goes back to school! She may join us in a year as a student herself at UF, though- We hope to see her then
This is Val (foreground), Dawn, and Bob. Bob is my immediate supervisor, and the lab is his domain. Val and Dawn are both school teachers working in our lab for the summer as part of another program. Val is working on the effects of pesticide on Hydrilla, an overly common noxious invasive aquatic weed which belongs in South East Asia...but has found its way to Florida, where it has become an infestation. I will write more on hydrilla and its singular qualities later, you can be sure :). Dawn is currently working on phytoestrogen levels in the grasses and weeds of Disney's Animal Kingdom's pastures. Apparently, some herbivores there have aborted of late, and the park officials are concerned that the hormone levels in the animals' grazing may be to blame. Our lab also handles phytoestrogen levels in Red Clover. Again, come the end of summer, I will probably be running the follow ups to these experients...:)
Another project our lab is deeply embedded in is the Battle Against Cogon Grass. Cogon grass is another invasive weed that plagues Florida. It tends to take over any land that has been cleared of natural vegetation. You can see it all along roads in some areas, and in entire feilds that have been neglected. Here I am, standing waste deep in cogon, at a research field in Brooksville, FL.
This project involves attempts at killing off cogon by mowing and then spraying with a strong herbicide. The above phot shows a transect of the field that had been sprayed last year, and we have just mowed down with a tractor and bush hog, and then disced (tractor pulls rotating disks over the land to turn the soil over). We then began revegetation. Some transects were physically planted with a native weed, creeping mimosa. Other transects recieved liberal doses of burmuda grass seeds. We shall see if the cogon grass can come back now...BTW, the above photo also shows, from left to right, my Boss, Dr. Greg MacDonald, my supervisor, Bob Querns, and the Master of All Things, Timmy Pederson.