LABS Series

LABS Series advances students’ intellectual curiosity and passion for STEM by exposing them to innovative research conducted by brilliant scientists in the field.

LABS (Learning Among Brilliant Scientists) students will gain access to new knowledge and be introduced to the skills needed to be a successful scientific researcher through workshops that include a lecture, seminar, and hands-on learning experience.

LABS Series develops the whole child by:

Engaging students in a unique educational experience to learn about a brilliant scientist’s current research work.
Promoting optimal challenge for students seeking opportunities to further their interests and passions in the STEM field.
Building a community of like-minded learners interested in STEM.

Upcoming Lectures

Saturday, July 14, 2018
10:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
540 South Marengo Avenue, Pasadena, CA

Speaker: Dr. Kristen Fisher, Ph.D

Topic: Ecology and Water in Desert Biological Soil Crust Ecosystems

Grade Level: 7th-12th

Program Fee: $50*

*Scholarships are available to qualified families in need.

As direct descendants of the earliest plants to colonize land from aquatic environments, mosses lack many of the adaptations that plants later evolved for life on land. So how do mosses, which are essentially aquatic plants that require the presence of external moisture for all of their life processes, live in places like the Mojave Desert? The answer to this question lies in the complex physiological trait of desiccation tolerance, which allows organisms like mosses to limit their life activities to brief periods when water is available and enter into an air-dried, quiescent state during the remainder of the time. We will explore the evolution and physiology of desiccation tolerance and investigate this trait comparatively in the moss genus Syntrichia, which is a component of the ecologically critical desert biological soil crust (biocrust) community.

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