Plant Biology

Sarah Goodrich Communications Coordinator 111C Jeffords Hall 802-656-2981 Sarah.Goodrich@uvm.edu

Sarah joined the Plant Biology Department in January 2005. She's the department web master, and she also writes the department newsletter and provides various other editorial and administrative support to the faculty. Before beginning her position at UVM, Sarah worked in textbook and encyclopedia publishing. She has a B.A. in English from the University at Albany, and she's working toward an M.S. in Natural Resources here at UVM.

Karyn McGovern Finance Coordinator 111B Jeffords Hall 802-656-0421 Karyn.McGovern@uvm.edu

Karyn joined the Plant Biology Department in March 2011. She provides accounting and human resources support to faculty and grad students in the department. Karyn was born and raised on Long Island, NY but is a country girl at heart. Her family always vacationed and rented ski houses in upstate New York so she fell in love with meadows and mountains--which don't exist on Long Island. So, after graduating from Ithaca College, she moved to Vermont and worked in the ski industry for about ten years, got married, started a family, and took a brief detour to western Maryland. She and her husband soon realized how much they loved and missed Vermont, so they moved back in 2010 and settled in North Ferrisburgh with their two kids and four German shepherds. Karyn loves to read and homestead, and is an unrelenting fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL).

Lillian "Porky" Reade Student Services 111 Jeffords Hall 802-656-0461 Lillian.Reade@uvm.edu

Porky has been working at UVM since 1980, and she's been here in the Plant Biology Department since 1990. She is the first person you see when you come to the Plant Biology office, and she can answer almost any question you may have. She spends most of her time assisting students with everything from the application process to choosing classes to graduation requirements. While it's an unusual nickname, she really does prefer to be called Porky, so don't be shy!

Mark Isselhardt Research Technician Proctor Maple Research Center 802-899-9926 Mark.Isselhardt@uvm.edu

As a research technician my duties include the design and support of various experiments related to the health of the maple resource. I have coauthored technical pamphlets, presented to professional maple groups in the US and Canada, and fielded sugaring related questions from diverse audiences. Being involved at the ground level of sugaring, including setting up tubing systems, tapping, and running the evaporator has also been an essential part of my professional development. I believe that the ability to draw from first hand experience makes communicating applied research findings to the maple industry more credible.

Shelley Jurkiewicz Biochemistry Lab Coordinator 123 Jeffords Hall 802-656-2225 Shelley.Jurkiewicz@uvm.edu

Shelley Jurkiewicz coordinates undergraduate Biochemistry laboratories where students practice the "hands on" skills of science. Laboratory activities include enzyme isolation and purification, protein, glucose and Vitamin C assays, SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and perennial favorite "The Great Potato," a compositional analysis of everyone's favorite food. As you can see from Shelley's picture, she is a real "plant person."

Michelle McGee BioCore 102 & 103 Coordinator 118 Marsh Life Science 802-656-2810 Michelle.McGee@uvm.edu

Michelle is a key member of UVM's Integrated Biological Science Curriculum. She keeps busy with the behind the scenes operation of the two upper level BCOR lab courses: Ecology and Evolution (BCOR 102) and Molecular and Cell Biology (BCOR 103). Between organizing field excursions and troubleshooting fluorescent microscopes, she stays busy managing many of the financial and administrative aspects of the BCOR curriculum.

Brian Stowe Woodlands & Sugaring Operations Manager Proctor Maple Research Center 802-899-9926 Brian.Stowe@uvm.edu

My position emphasizes sugarbush management, maple tubing layout, upgrades, repairs, and the annual production of maple syrup. I am also involved in designing, building, and maintaining various studies centered around maple sap collection and maple syrup production techniques and assisting in many of the studies on forest growth, health, and nutrition.

Tim Wilmot Extension Maple Specialist Proctor Maple Research Center 802-899-9926 Timothy.Wilmot@uvm.edu

My position with UVM Extension combines research with outreach and education. One of my principal research interests is the sap flow mechanism in sugar maple, and the interactions among temperature, sap pressure, and sap flow rate. A second research interest is forest nutrition and relationships among soil and foliar chemistry, tree growth and vigor, and sap sugar production in maple stands. My work also includes writing and talking about maple research, both my own and that of my colleagues at the Proctor Maple Research Center, as well as reporting on successful methods, innovations, and discoveries by other sugarmakers.