Background

Spring beauty, Claytonia virginica

Ever since I was a child, I have enjoyed being out in nature. I clearly remember my joy of watching wildlife documentaries, and later on, regular visits to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After being admitted to Southern Adventist University in fall 2012, I selected biology as my major (or as my family and friends would tease me, the "field trip major"!). As the program progressed, I quickly fell in love with field biology, but wasn't sure what specific area to specialize in. It wasn't until an upper-division botany course held in the Smokies that I realized that plant biology existed and was something I could be really interested in.


With my professor Dr. Rick Norskov and classmates in the Smokies!

After graduating Southern in the spring of 2017, I continued my search for specialization at Andrews University in Michigan, where I earned a master's in biology in summer 2019. There, among the diverse biology faculty, I finally settled on plant biology as a career. The problem was there was no botanist on staff! Very kindly, paleontologist Tom Goodwin took me under his wing. He guided me on a project centering around the seasonal diet variation of a local squirrel species, the thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus). It was an excellent intersection of his expertise (squirrels) and my growing interests (botany). 

During my time at Andrews, I worked as the Head Teaching Assistant of the freshman Anatomy and Physiology labs. This included preparing chemicals, organizing supplies, and answering student questions. Furthermore, I supervised up to six undergraduate TA's and delivered short lectures to my students. Enrollment ranged from 60-100 students a semester. This experience cemented for me my interest in science education as a career.
Dr. Goodwin and I

Standing on a strong biological foundation, I was thrilled to be admitted to the Plant Biology Ph.D. program at University of Georgia (UGA) in fall 2019. I am working under Dr. Chris Peterson and am studying the impact that wind disturbances and salvage logging have on the diversity and composition of herbaceous species. In plain English, that means I get paid to tromp around out in the woods, set up squares, and identify all plant species in those squares (such as wildflowers). :) Then I come back to those squares the next year: to see whether there are different species, more species, or fewer species of plants present. I set up squares in sections of forest that have differing severity - that is, damage from the storms. I'm studying to see in different types of forests and over different time lengths how storm damage affects the growth of plant species. I plan to graduate in May 2024!

At UGA, I have had three years of experience teaching both basic and advanced plant biology courses to undergraduates. I've had the opportunity to teach both lecture and lab, though the latter is my favorite due to all the fun student interactions I get to have! My favorite parts have been leading field trips to the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, UGA Greenhouse, and UGA Herbarium! I've also loved overseeing experiments about photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration, where students can see with their own eyes the processes happening. I absolutely love providing students the opportunity to actively experience science first-hand with all of their senses. 

I'm actively looking for a job where I can utilize my enthusiasm, my scientific knowledge, and my understanding of teaching methods to share science with a broad range of audiences. Don't hesitate to contact me! austin.menzmer@uga.edu 

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About Me

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I am a plant ecologist with a passion to make curiosity contagious! If people begin to understand the natural world around them, they can then go on to appreciate and care about our Earth. I love helping people begin their journey of discovery and understanding with the amazing nature around them! I am actively looking for a job position where I can share science with diverse audiences.  Don't hesitate to reach out to me at:  austin.menzmer@uga.edu
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Program Update!!

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  The view that my herbaceous species enjoy in my Tennessee field site! It's been a little while since I've posted here, hasn't it! I think a little recap is more than appropriate, so here goes! I was so excited to join Dr. Peterson's lab in late fall 2019 as referenced in my previous post, then...life happened. First of all, COVID. Rather than starting fieldwork as planned, I spent 2020 immersing myself in the literature and expanding my focus from just looking at wind disturbance to that of wind disturbance and salvage logging on herbaceous species.  In 2021 I started fieldwork in earnest: a short-term (<5 years since disturbance) experimental (human-created) wind disturbance in Piedmont Georgia, a short-term hurricane and logging disturbance in coastal plain Georgia, and a long-term (>20 years since disturbance) thunderstorm and logging disturbance in coastal plain Tennessee. Due to logistical constraints, I was only able to visit the Georgia coastal plain site
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Plant Center Retreat!

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