Lab News

We are thrilled to announce that Bridget Murphy has been awarded the Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA) at the AGU 2024 conference for their exceptional poster presentation, “Contrasting Phenotypic Plasticity of Photosynthesis and Xylem Architecture in Response to Summer Warming and Drought in a Slow-Growing and Fast-Growing Family of Field-Grown…

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and are feeling recharged for an exciting year ahead.Wishing you a year full of groundbreaking discoveries, successful experiments, and inspiring collaborations. Let’s keep pushing the frontiers of science together!

From December 9-13, 2024, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting took place in Washington, D.C., bringing together over 25,000 Earth and space scientists to explore this year’s theme, “What’s Next for Science.” Representing the Ensminger Lab, Siyu and Bridget presented their research on white spruce (Picea glauca) responses to…

In this image, Bridget is meticulously preparing semi-thin sections of White Spruce using the parafilm method. She carefully produces cuts of 15 µm in thickness to closely examine the xylem anatomy. Her analysis of the growth rings will reveals potential differences in tree structure that depend on both environmental factors and…

Siyu is measuring leaf spectral reflectance in white pine. Leaf spectral reflectance refers to the amount of light reflected by a leaf at different wavelengths across the visible and infrared spectrum. This technique helps assess plant health, photosynthetic efficiency, and water status by detecting subtle changes in leaf properties.  Siyu…

Last summer, Anchalya, Olivia, and Maria took on a bold challenge in the UTM research greenhouse—simulating drier climates to test the resilience of white spruce and white pine, two vital conifer species. Their mission? To uncover how these trees defend themselves against climate stress using sustained non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), a…