Nicole is a Ph.D. candidate in the Phillips Lab studying the regulators and consequences of tree responses to drought. She uses a combination of field, greenhouse, and lab experiments to identify if and how microbial legacies from historical droughts can influence tree morphological and physiological responses to a contemporary drought. Nicole enjoys doing outreach as a coach for the Science Olympiad team at Bloomington High School South, which she has done for 4 years. She is also a proud mentor of Phillips Lab undergraduates who are exploring their own questions regarding ecosystem responses to drought.

Caroline is a member of the Moyle Lab in the EEB program. Her dissertation research explores how environmental factors and geography shape the distribution of trait variation within and among species in North American violets (Viola). She uses field experiments, historical plant records, and comparative methods to explore what drives trait variation spatially and temporally in this genus.

Mackenzie is a member of Jen Lau's lab studying how elevated soil nitrogen affects ecological and evolutionary interactions between plants and nitrogen-fixing rhizobium bacteria. She has used a combination of fieldwork and greenhouse studies to disentangle direct and indirect effects of soil nitrogen on both plants and rhizobia in a variety of contexts, including native species, widespread introduced species, and crops.

Sierra is a PhD candidate in the Lau lab and EEB graduate program. Her research explores the factors influencing the resilience of plant populations and communities to anthropogenic global changes.