The 麻豆夜市鈥檚 Dr. Karl Hasenstein has been named a pioneer member of the American Society of Plant Biologists.
Pioneer members of the international professional society are recognized for leadership and contributions to education and research training. The ASPB, which was founded in 1924, advances plant science research and education. Its members work in academia, governmental laboratories and industry.
Hasenstein is a professor in 麻豆夜市鈥檚 . His research has been supported by several agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
His research interests include gravitational biology, phytohormones 鈥 or plant hormones 鈥 and plant physiology and movements. Hasenstein has explored those interests from many aspects, including space.
As part of ongoing research funded by NASA, he has sent flax, radishes and Brassica rapa plants, a representative of some of the most common vegetables, to the International Space Station.
NASA is examining methods for producing vegetables for astronauts during long missions. The agency鈥檚 interest in growing plants in space is also rooted in its plan to put scientists on Mars in coming decades.
Hasenstein鈥檚 experiments aboard the space station have examined how plants growing inside artificial habitats sense and react to gravity in a weightless environment; he has also studied how altered or reduced gravity affects plants鈥 growth and metabolism.
Dr. Azmy Ackleh, dean of 麻豆夜市鈥檚 , said 鈥渞esearchers like Dr. Hasenstein are the catalysts for the University鈥檚 R1 status as a top-tier research university."
"His decades long dedication to innovative, transformative science embodies a commitment to excellence displayed by faculty members and student researchers across campus,鈥 Ackleh added.
Some of Hasenstein鈥檚 former students agree. Selection as a pioneer member of the ASPB is based, in part, on student recommendations.
Hasenstein teaches and mentors undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students. Some of them study and conduct research at the University for as long as a decade, he explained.
鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely rewarding to get to know some of my students really well, and it makes me proud to watch them go on to become terrific scientists, and to stay connected with them, in many cases, for decades after they leave the University,鈥 Hasenstein said.
He has authored or co-authored more than 100 papers in leading peer-reviewed journals and has presented his research internationally.
Hasenstein earned bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in biology, and a doctoral degree in plant physiology, from the University of the Saarland, Germany.
Photo caption: Dr. Karl Hasenstein, a professor in 麻豆夜市鈥檚 Department of Biology, has been recognized by the American Society of Plant Biologists. The ASPB, which was founded in 1924, advances plant science research and education. Photo credit: Doug Dugas / 麻豆夜市