End of Semester Thoughts

As the semester ends, I'm proud of what we Herbarians have been able to accomplish. We have completely organized Cabinets 1-13, and Cabinets 1-12 are databased and name verified. At least seven cabinets have also been annotated, and Cabinets 1-2 have been almost completely barcoded. Almost 2,000 specimens have been photographed with SilverImage.

As of December 28th, I am leaving for a research expedition to Antarctica, along with another CMU undergraduate student, Carlos Coronado, and Dr. Andrew Mahon (CMU Molecular Ecology). We will be collecting benthic invertebrates along the coast of the lonely continent. To keep up with my explorations there, you can follow Dr. Mahon's blog at http://people.cst.cmich.edu/mahon2a/MahonLab/Antarctica/Antarctica.html .    We will all be posting on a weekly basis, and our friends here in the states will be posting pictures on our behalf, as we won't have internet access or phone service until our return.

Come mid-February, I will be returning to my work in the Herbarium. Emilie will also be having her own adventures until then. Meanwhile, Adriane will be holding the fort for us! My hope is that by the end of next semester, we will be able to finish organizing, databasing, verifying, and annotating all of the cabinets. Hopefully we can also make progress with barcoding and digitizing the specimens.

A big thanks to Dr. Monfils for a wonderful semester, and for the wicked cool Herbarium hat she gave me for Christmas. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures with it in Antarctica!

Until I return!

Abigail Hollingsworth