LI-COR Environmental Education Fund (LEEF)

Alfred University

Alfred, NY

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	L Cheryld Emmons

Appalachian State University

Boone, NC

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Howard Neufeld

Bethel College and Seminary

St. Paul, MN

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biological Sciences	G Kent Apostol

Brigham Young University - Idaho

Rexburg, ID

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Robert Coleman

Buffalo State College

Buffalo, NY

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Daniel Potts

California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	R. Brandon Pratt

Student Profiles:

CSU Students Courtney Traugh graduated in May 2009 with a BS in Chemistry. She began her Biology Master's degree in the Spring of 2009 and wants to get her PhD after that. As an undergraduate, Courtney presented her research at the Ecological Society of America conference in August of 2009 and co-authored a paper. Being able to work with research-grade instrumentation has opened new doors for Courtney and given her confidence. "You get to be part of something bigger. I am a contributing member of the science community," she said with a smile. "Having used these instruments and done this research, I now understand a lot more about what scientists do. I kind of figured everyone becomes a doctor or works in a pharmacy. I thought if I did research my only options were water treatment or oil fields. But after doing these research projects, now I know how many opportunities I really have."

CSU Students Haley O'Mara will graduate in May 2010. Originally wanting to be a vet, Haley got involved in research through Dr Pratt. Now she has decided to start her Masters right after graduating. Currently, in addition to being a full time student and doing research projects with Dr. Pratt, Haley works as a Naturalist at a preserve. "It's the most amazing and satisfying job ever! I get to teach science to kids by taking them on hikes through the preserve. It's exciting to learn how to conserve these areas and how to best preserve what is there." Haley is considering continuing her work at the preserve after obtaining her master's degree. Haley used the LI-6400XT Portable Photosynthesis System to complete independent research and presented her findings at the Ecological Society of America conference in August of 2009. "Doing research has been really fun and has led me to other opportunities. I love research. It's meaningful," Haley said.

Providing Students Opportunities by Integrating the LI-6400XT Portable Photosynthesis System into the classroom

CSU Students When Dr. Brandon Pratt, Assistant Professor at California State University, first began looking for instrumentation, he knew he needed the LI-6400XT Portable Photosynthesis System. "I needed an instrument that undergraduates could pick up quickly, that would be robust to getting abused, and provide accurate data. Especially for undergraduates, the LI-6400XT has features that are really desirable. It also has features for more advanced research. So you really get the best of both worlds. It is so easy to use. Students can start asking interesting questions right away. It works great!" Pratt said.

Dr. Pratt uses his two LI-6400XT Systems, both of which were acquired through LEEF, in all of his classes, from IntroBiology for freshmen, to Plant Physiology offered to seniors and Masters students. "For my Intro Biology class it provides a rich intro to C3 and C4 plants. We do a lot of light response curves and the data is always beautiful," he said.

CSU Students In addition to his own classes, Dr. Pratt also makes the instruments available to others, including two high school students, a high school teacher, and one student from a nearby community college. Sponsored through an NSF CAREER Grant, they come during the summer to do about a month of intense research followed by presenting a poster on their findings. "The high school students performed respiration measurements after only a brief introduction to the LI-6400XT. They learned the instrument pretty quickly and the data they got were beautiful! The instrument is really ideal for these situations," said Dr. Pratt.

The instruments are also used in a number of research projects by undergraduates. Haley O'Mara, Courtney Traugh, and Mark DeGuzman (pictured above) undergraduates at CSU, Bakersfield, have done research projects with Dr. Pratt made possible with generous funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The research has given them an excitement and appreciation of science.

"During one class we were doing a study on carbon assimilation. My leaves had an irregular shape so I measured leaf area afterward. When I downloaded the data in excel, I started going through and typing the correct leaf area for each plant. As I entered leaf area, all the measurements automatically recalculated. Seeing photosynthesis and respiration rates change right there as a result of area… that was fantastic!" O'Mara stated before adding, "Doing research and getting to use the LI-6400XT have given us, as students, new opportunities and the tools to get answers for our questions."

"Yes," added Traugh. 'The only problem I have now is that I go way too far. There are so many questions I would love to try to answer. The only limiting factor is time."

Photos courtesy of Brandon Pratt.

California State University - Stanislaus

Turlock, CA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Stuart Wooley

Calvin College

Grand Rapids, MI

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	David Dornbos

Canisius College

Buffalo, NY

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Helen Hull-Sanders

Colgate University

Hamilton, NY

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	James E. Watkins

DePauw University

Greencastle, IN

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Dana Dudle

Dickinson College

Carlisle, PA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Tom Arnold

Eastern Mennonite University

Harrisonburg, VA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology		Stephen Cessna

Fort Hays State University

Hays, KS

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biological Sciences	Sheila Pfeifer
Ecophysiology	Biological Sciences	Brian Maricle

Georgia Southwestern State University

Americus, GA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Stephanie Harvey

Glenville State College

Glenville, WV

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Forestry	M Rico Gazal

Hamilton College

Clinton, NY

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Bill Pfitsch

Lewis-Clark State College

Lewiston, ID

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Division of Natural Sciences	Elizabeth Skendzic

Mercyhurst College

Erie, PA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	C David Hyland

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, TN

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	John DuBois

Missouri State University

Springfield, MO

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Graduate College	Frank Einhellig

Moravian College

Bethlehem, PA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Diane Husic

Morehead State University

Morehead, KY

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biological and Environmental Sciences	Brian Reeder

Mount Allison University

Sackville, NB

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Jennifer Baltzer

Nebraska Wesleyan University

Lincoln, NE

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Jerry Bricker

Nebraska Wesleyan University Students and the LI-6400XT Undergraduate students at Nebraska Wesleyan University use the LI-6400XT Portable Photosynthesis System in Belize in January 2009.

Photo courtesy of Jerry Bricker.

North Central College

Naperville, IL

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Christine L. Weilhoefer

Occidental College

Los Angeles, CA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Gretchen North

Paul Smith's College

Paul Smiths, NY

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology		Celia Evans

Portland State University

Portland, OR

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	N Todd Rosenstiel

Princeton University - Semester In Kenya Program

Princeton, NJ

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Civil and Environmental Engineering	Kelly Caylor

Rowan University

Glassboro, NJ

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biological Sciences	Alison Krufka

Samford University

Birmingham, AL

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Malia Fincher

Stephen F. Austin State University

Nacogdoches, TX

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Dennis Gravatt

Union College

Schenectady, NY

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biological Sciences	D Jeffrey Corbin

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, CA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	Jarmila Pittermann

UCSC Students and the LI-6400XT Dr. Jarmila Pittermann began her career at the University of California at Santa Cruz in April of 2008. Along with Dr. Ingrid Parker, Dr Pittermann set out to expand the Plant Sciences curriculum within the context of ecology and evolution by incorporating a basic, mechanistic understanding of plant physiology and plant structure and function.

UCSC is highly dedicated to involving undergraduates in research, and the Plant Sciences major requires an independent study. This independent study often leads to a senior thesis for students. Past undergraduates have been co-authors on papers in American Journal of Botany, Evolutionary Ecology Research, and Conservation Biology among others.

As Dr. Pittermann stated in her LEEF Ecophysiology application, "Clearly, the addition of an LI-6400XT Portable Photosynthesis System would significantly improve the curriculum by allowing students to creatively train in the methods of photosynthesis and fluorescence within the diverse environs of UCSC. Because of the LI-6400XT's flexibility and ease of use, we imagine that many of our undergraduate researchers will be able to make the most of this advanced research tool as they embark on their projects in plant biology and ecology."

Awarded in 2008, UCSC obtained their LEEF instrument and are now incorporating it in classes and research projects. During the summer of 2009, Dr. Pittermann used the LI-6400XT along with the new Lighted Conifer Chamber to have her Undergraduates measure gas exchange of remote conifers. "The instrument was used to generate some light curves, but mostly A-Ci curves and spot measurements, and worked flawlessly. We measured gas exchange at flow rates ranging from 300-600 depending on the amount of foliage we were accommodating and achieved consistently good data." Pittermann said.

"Overall," Pittermann added, "without a doubt, the addition of the LI-6400XT to the Department of Ecology and Evolution is a terrific leap towards a bright future of plant sciences at UC Santa Cruz."

Photo courtesy Jarmila Pittermann.

University of Nebraska - Kearney

Kearney, NE

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Wyatt Hoback

University of Puget Sound

Tacoma, WA

LEEF Package(s):	Department(s):	Faculty Member(s):
Ecophysiology	Biology	Andreas Madlung

University of St. Thomas