Talking about myself Flashcards
Tell us about yourself
Well, my name is Bianca Andrade. I am originally from Curitiba, south of Brazil. I graduated in Biological Sciences and got my PhD in Vegetation Science from Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. After graduated I’ve been developing research as postdoctoral researcher internationally. I have worked at the same university I got my PhD and at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My research focuses on increasing scientific understanding of plant biodiversity and its drivers of change and applying that knowledge to range management, grassland restoration and biodiversity conservation. At University of Nebraska-Lincoln I was involved in two main projects. One aimed to quantify the impact of high intensity rotational grazing on plant-soil-animal interactions. The other project, aimed to quantify the impact of disturbance interactions and extreme weather events on vegetation descriptors. During my postdoc and I designed and taught student-centered courses in English and Portuguese, to both undergraduate and graduate students. The courses I taught were on soil ecology, ecology and data analysis in a variety of settings, including lab and field courses.
I have experience mentoring students from diverse backgrounds and collaborating in research.
It is my career goal to teach at a university where I can teach and mentor both undergraduate and graduate students while continue to conduct high-quality research. I feel that my experience teaching and mentoring students from diverse backgrounds, in conducting research on a wide range of topics, from basic to applied research and in a multidisciplinary context, has given me the tools to become a better teacher, mentor, researcher and will help me achieve that goal.
I see Fort Hays University as a place where I can thrive as a professor and researcher.
Tell us about your research
My research focuses on understanding vegetation response to environmental factors and management practices, using floristic, functional, and phylogenetic metrics as well as soil-climate attributes through big data analytics. Analytical tools allow me to disentangle the complex factors that govern these patterns and enable the development of sustainable land use strategies. I am particularly passionate about studying the relative impact of human activity, such as prescribed fire, grazing management, and human-induced extreme climatic events on patterns and processes in plant communities.
Tell us about your goals.
Career goal: My career goal to teach at a university where I can teach and mentor both undergraduate and graduate students while continue to conduct high-quality research.
Research goal: independent research + externally funded + lab with students
Teaching goals: (i) Enable student to apply their newly-acquired knowledge and skills to tackle real-life problems; (ii) Promote scientific thinking/reasoning; (iii) Facilitate learning through effective note-taking strategies.
To teach at undergraduate and graduate level in areas allocated by the Head of Department and reviewed from time to time by the Head of Department.
To carry out research and produce publications, or other research outputs, in line with personal objectives agreed in the Staff review process.
To obtain research funding support. To engage with the broader scholarly and professional communities.
To supervise or assist with supervision of undergraduate, taught graduate (Masters) or research graduate students.
To contribute to the development, planning and implementation of a high quality curriculum.
To assist in the development of learning materials, preparing schemes of work and maintaining records to monitor student progress, achievement and attendance.
To participate in departmental and faculty seminars aimed at sharing research outcomes and building interdisciplinary collaboration within and outside the department.
To participate in the development, administration and marking of exams and other assessments.To provide care and support to students.
To participate in the administration of the department’s programmes of study and other activities as requested.
Tell us about your dissertation
Plant-soil interactions under different ecological scales. My thesis had three chapters.
1st: Main soil and environmental characteristics which define two grassland biomes we can find in the Southern Brazil.
2nd: Intraspecific trait variation of eight species found in calcareous grasslands submitted to different restoration treatments
3rd: I lead a review paper which discussed degradation and restoration in grassland ecosystems in South America. It was one of the outcomes of a Brazil-Germany collaboration. We developed a restoration framework, identifying thresholds for structured decision-making process for scientific and applied purposes.
Tell us about your service activities
I have been doing service for the research community, research association and for the University.
Reviewing papers.
Since 2018 I am part in the Editorial board of two international journals (Oecologia Australis and Vegetation Classification and Survey)
Membership committee of the IAVS: It aims to promote the inclusion of researchers from underrepresented countries in the IAVS research organization.
At the university I have been part as committee member for comprehensive examination of the undergraduate and master students thesis work.
Extracurricular activities
Describe your degree of involvement in your professional associations/conferences
IAVS: young scientists (workshop), journal, membership commitee
Since 2018 I am part in the Editorial board of two international journals (Oecologia Australis and Vegetation Classification and Survey)
Membership committee of the IAVS: It aims to promote the inclusion of researchers from underrepresented countries in the AIVS research organization.
