PSM researchers host high school science students from the Detroit Metro area
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EmailPSM faculty and staff wrap up a second program together with EcoTek
“From this activity I saw the intricate root structure of wheat and soybean plants," said Lindsay, a senior, working with Addie Thompson's lab. "In comparison the soybean roots were much thinner than the wheats roots. In addition there were varying factors such as fertilizer, soil type, and wheat presence that affected how much the roots grew. Removing field soil was much easier opposed to potting soil because of its sandy texture rather than potting soil’s denser texture.”
Now in final stages of data collection and analysis, the students will begin preparing for their poster session March 8.
Read more about this program here
Watch this video: MSU Dept of Forestry shows how they recruited an undergraduate student through the Ecotek program.
This is the second year of the program, and four students from EcoTek Lab returned to PSM this semester to work here in PSM.
The students developed the experimental design--comparing soils, biologicals, fertilizers, and weed co-plantings in wheat and soybeans-- and set up the treatments in the newly renovated greenhouse. The students have returned to PSM each month to collect and analyze data, from October 2023 through March 2024.
Mentoring the students are: Sarah Lebeis, Addie Thompson, Eric Patterson and research assistant Matt Chanselor, who works with Dr Grace Fleming.
These students are returning for a second year," Keith Young, founder of EcoTek Labs, said. Young said the students will present their findings March 8, 2024 in a symposium at the Kellogg Center. The students will also present at a special session of the United Nations. "This is how you build diversity in science," Young said. "It's a long-term investment." 
Learning technology with Postdoctoral researcher Anuradha Singh (Thompson Lab) and graduate student Matt Chansler (Grace Fleming).
