News and Highlights

General News Continued

• Not Mushroom for Debate – “The Last of Us” Spores Interest in Mycological Research
• Plant Breeders Stage a Dogwood Revolution, Creating Hardy Varieties That Sparkle
• Rutgers Botanist Builds Bridge Between Science and Art in MoMA Exhibit on Hilma af Klint
• NJ State Senate Resolution Recognizes Rutgers SEBS Immersive Learning through Science Storytelling Lab for Increasing Public Trust in Science

Publications

• Liu, H., Henderson, M., Pang, Z. et al. Structural determinants for pH-dependent activation of a plant metacaspase. Nat Commun 16, 4973 (2025). doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-60253-y
• Brumfield, R.G., D. L. Greenwood, M. Flahive DiNardo, A.J. Both, J.R. Heckman, N. Polanin, A. Rouff, A. Rowe, R. VanVranken, S. Arumugam, and R. Govindasamy. 2025. Annie’s Project: Farming in New Jersey’s Cities and the Urban Fringe. Journal of Extension. 63(2). Article 5. 
• Rabinovich, A., J. R. Heckman, C. A. Wyenandt and R. Di.  2025.  Foliar nickel nutrient application for improved urea conversion and abiotic stress mitigation in tomato. Agricultural Research. doi: 10.1007/s40003-025-00854-7
• Evan E., B. Abramson, K. Acosta, P.T.N. Hoang, C. Mateo-Elizalde, V. Schubert, B. Pasaribu, P.S. Albert, N. Hartwick, K. Colt, A. Aylward, U. Ramu, J.A. Birchler, I. Schubert, E. Lam, T.P. Michael, R.A. Martienssen. Duckweed genomes and epigenomes underlie triploid hybridization and clonal reproduction. Current Biology. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.013
• Hyun H., J. Sun, M. Irfan, E. Lam, S. P. S. Chundawat, S. Lee. Time-resolved tracking of cellulose biosynthesis and assembly during cell wall regeneration in live Arabidopsis protoplasts, 21 March 2025. Science Advances. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.ads6312
• Campbell, L. G., B. Montgomery, M. King, J. Hall, & L. Struwe. 2025. Students in the wild: Safety instruction practices in distance-taught biological laboratory and field classes. American Biology Teacher 87(1):13-19. doi: 10.1525/abt.2025.87.1.13 [feature article]
• Rothfels, C., et al. [c. 70 authors, incl. L. Struwe]. 2025 (in press). The PteridoPortal: A publicly accessible collection of over three million records of extant and extinct pteridophytes. Applications in Plant Sciences
• Setubal, R. B., L. Struwe, & R. C. Forzza. 2025. Taxonomical revision of American Strychnos sect. Breviflorae subsect. Eriospermae (Loganiaceae). Brittonia. doi: 10.1007/s12228-024-09822-x
• Waters, D., L. Struwe, & J. Lendemer. 2025 (in press). The Lichens and Allied Fungi of Wickecheoke Creek Preserve, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, U.S.A.: A Baseline Pre-Hurricane Ida. The Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society.
• Young, B., B. Thiers, J. White, & L. Struwe. 2025. Endophytic bacteria discovered in oil body organelles of the liverworts Marchantia polymorpha and Radula complanata. American Journal of Botany e70017. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.70017
• New Patent: Automated Growth System for Floating Aquatic Plants and Method, Eric Lam, Shawn D. Sorrels
• Heckman, J., M. Westendorf, A. Rabinovich. 2025. Organic Lawn Clipping Silage as a Potential Livestock Feed. Sustainable Agriculture Research. doi: 10.5539/sar.v14n1p29
• Heckman, J., T.E. Besancon, A. Rabinovich. 2025. Equine Manure Composition, Soil Fertility and Forage Response. Communications in Soil Science Plant Analysis. doi: 10.1080/00103624.2025.2453000
• Seidel, D., Staffen, M., Abdallah, L., & Morin, X. (2025). Outcomes of a 4-H STEM Learning Enrichment Program Using Video Storytelling. The Journal of Extension, 63(1), Article 18.

Awards and Honors

Speaking Invitations

Books and Book Chapters