Since 1999, the chapter has sponsored a scholarship program for students doing research on native plant topics. Krti Tallam, John McLaughlin, Sierra Phillips and Andy Frank are recipients of scholarships for the 2022-2023 academic year and will present their projects during this talk.

Krti Tallam, Stanford University (Sally Casey Shooting Stars Graduate Research Scholarship Winner). Coastal California seagrasses are global blue carbon habitats for climate change mitigation. Krti's project is a unique broadscale examination of meadows across distinct estuaries of a single species. Krti is a Stanford PhD candidate and trans-disciplinary expert for planetary health topics, via machine learning and computer vision, data science, and science communication.

Andy Frank, San Jose State University, Biology-Ecology and Evolution (Donald Mayall Conservation Research Scholarship Winner) Erysimum franciscanum is a biennial rare plant found exclusively within the San Francisco Bay Area. With its range stretching from the Presidio down to San Jose, Andy will be conducting a greenhouse experiment to determine to what factor water availability determines local adaptation in populations. When complete, he hopes the experiment will provide insight into better understanding population dynamics in the face of future climate scenarios.

Sierra Phillips, UC Davis, Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Group (Graduate Research Scholarship Winner) Sierra is earning her Ph.D. in Hydrologic Sciences at UC Davis and her work is focused on river restoration science. Her study investigates the role of hydrology in promoting or limiting Populus fremontii seedling recruitment through the development of a process-based recruitment model.

John McLaughlin, San Jose State University, Biological Sciences (Graduate Research Scholarship Winner) John McLaughlin is a master's student at San Jose State University in the Department of biological sciences who has spent the last three years producing a bryophyte flora of Henry W. Coe State Park. His talk will cover some of California's smallest plants - the mosses, liverworts, and hornworts of Santa Clara County's largest natural preserve, Henry W. Coe State Park.

This talk will be live streamed on Zoom (requires advance registration) and YouTube (registration NOT required).