Holding Pattern

As the title suggests, this week my experimentation with the Palo Verde was put into a holding pattern. At the end of the spring semester every year there is a student conference held at Estrella Mountain Community College. Each year students submit their research projects in the hopes of being selected to present the results of their work at the conference. As the deadline is fast approaching, this week I worked on developing and polishing an abstract for submission to the panel that reviews student's work for selection to the conference.

There are a few odd things at play here... Submit an abstract before the work is done? Cite references in an abstract? Hmm, why don't we call this what it actually is, a research proposal? OK, so the actual nuts and bolts of writing it were actually not so bad. There is a rubric available, and it always helps to have a guide. Having said that, I am actually concerned about whether or not my work will be accepted. Evidently there is a theme to the conference. This year the theme is "Healthy Body, Healthy Soul." My work on proving cloning in Parkinsonia mycrophilla (the Foothills Palo Verde) as a genetic adaptation for survival in the Sonoran Desert is not really applicable to "Healthy Body, Healthy Soul." So, I have really worked on refining the language in the proposal in order to make it as interesting/intriguing as possible. If I am turned down hopefully I will be able to find another conference to apply to. We shall see...

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