“Land is not merely soil, it is a fountain of energy flowing through a circuit of soils, plants, and animals.” – Aldo Leopold
The Crandall Lab engages in various centers and initiatives at Penn State. Our goal is to build research and educational capacity within our campus community and to provide outreach for the general public:
Astrobiology Research Center @ Penn State
– Researching extremophile microbes associated with plants and the soil to inform terrestrial and extraterrestrial microbial survival in extreme habits.
Center for Root & Rhizosphere Biology (CRRB) @ Penn State
– Developing K-12 curriculum on soilborne diseases together with other plant-microbe loving faculty
One Health Microbiome Center @ Penn State
– Kickstart Bootcamp in Microbiome Bioinformatics: help introduce incoming graduate students to data analysis and visualization – Summers
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Diversity in STEM & Educational Equity
To help students make connections between topics and concepts, it is important to use a wide range of learning tools to make a subject more meaningful and easier to understand. This is especially true for students who come from different experiences, backgrounds, and world-views. Prior to my position at Penn State, I worked for the Office for Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnership at Harvard University. Together with a team of educators, I developed learning strategies and ran mentoring workshops to encourage underrepresented minorities and students from low-income families to conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). One of our main goals was to promote science literacy in underserved high school and college students in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Crandall Lab @ Penn State is committed to creating a safe, supportive, and inclusive environment for individuals from diverse backgrounds, including minorities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and students with disabilities. This is not an exhaustive list. We believe BlackLivesMatter# and support opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color (BIPOC) to pursue careers in STEM. We endeavor to create a space in our lab where diversity is celebrated and different ideas and world-views are welcome. For more details about Penn State’s commitment to diversity, please read the Penn State Statement of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
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