Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
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sarraceniamason.bsky.social
Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
@sarraceniamason.bsky.social
Botany, Horticulture, Conservation, Education, Open-Source Technology

Michigan State University Assistant Professor (Plants X Tech Lab) & Horticulture Gardens Curator

Views my own and not representative of my employer
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
Do you teach #rstats? Do your students complain about how lame and old-fashioned dplyr is? Don't worry: I have the solution for you: github.com/hadley/genzp....

genzplyr is dplyr, but bussin fr fr no cap.
GitHub - hadley/genzplyr: dplyr but make it bussin fr fr no cap
dplyr but make it bussin fr fr no cap. Contribute to hadley/genzplyr development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Hey #Botany2026 we're actively looking for potential speakers at ALL experience levels for our proposed colloquium: Side-quest! – Level up your science!. If you have an interesting story, project, or idea to share that qualifies as a “Side-quest” we want to know about it!

More info below⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
October 15, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Michigan Garden Group meet up at the MSU Horticulture Gardens today was amazing! #publicgardens #plants
October 8, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
We're excited to welcome Christopher Topp to the Plant Resilience Institute! Dr. Topp uses powerful imaging tools to envision the future of sustainable agriculture, and he will soon bring his expertise in root biology to MSU. Read the full story: plantresilience.msu.edu/pri-news/202...
October 8, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Repotted and culled our milkweed breeding populations today! Custom blend of sand and Sungro Perennial mix. Leftover plants were planted in the MSU Horticulture Gardens or are going to the MSU Pollinator Performance Center
September 26, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
Still my favorite meme included in my lectures. I did not make this, and no idea who did.
September 6, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
Please share! I'm looking for a postdoc. The position is to lead one of the following projects: 1) regulation of plant specialized metabolism by cell fate, or 2) foliar embryogenesis in the succulent plant Kalanchoe.

Learn more abt projects: cxli233.github.io/cxLi_lab/res...
Plant cells are totipotent, meaning individual cells have the potential to develop into a full organism, a property unique to the zygote for animals. However, in most species for most cells, plant cells are not spontaneously totipotent, since they must be treated with specific hormone combinations to unlock their totipotency. Species within the Kalanchoe genus is unique as they spontaneously develop foliar embryos that are fully realized plantlets with shoot and root from notches along the edges of leaves. We speculate that the progenitor cells that give rise to these foliar embryos are totipotent, and we are using single cell techniques to identify & characterize them. In addition to being a fundamental process for plant biology, we foresee unlocking totipotency has many biotechnological applications, such as faciliating genetic transformation and the development of synthetic organs of biomanufacturing.
cxli233.github.io
September 4, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Harvesting common milkweed follicles in my backyard for #science
September 5, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Harvesting common milkweed follicles in my backyard for #science
September 5, 2025 at 12:45 AM
We still need >60 plant submissions for the Botany & Dragons Bestiary! Please share the flyer with your students! #iamabotanist #plantsci #ttrpg forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...
August 28, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
If anyone wants some plant pathogens in fun colors let me know 🌈🧫 #Xylella #Pseudomonas #Pantoea
Shoutout to @atinygreencell.bsky.social for inspiration and high quality source material
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Chromoprotein-modified plant pathogenic bacteria: tools for experimental tracking and visualization
Microbiology research often requires tracking of specific bacterial strains within a host infection system or in the environment, as well as differentiation of strains in a co-infection or microbe-mic...
www.biorxiv.org
August 27, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Welcome! Come over to PSSB and say hi sometime :)
I'd like to thank the communications manager at MSU Plant Bio for this very nice news article.

plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu/posts/082025...
plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu
August 26, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University is Hiring!

We are searching for a Director of the Oregon State University Herbarium and applications are welcomed at the ranks of assistant, associate, or full professor.
August 20, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
Please share — Michigan State Plant Biology is searching for an Herbarium Director! Tenure stream, open rank faculty position balancing research, teaching, service, and admin responsibilities. Join us! Reach out to me or @emjo.bsky.social with questions!

plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu/job-postings...
plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu
August 20, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
🌲 What if a terrestrial laser scanner cost ~€2k, and still delivered reliable forest data?

We built one. And it works.
→ DBH accuracy ~1.5 cm
→ Tree height ~1 m
→ Open hardware + open software

Accessible 3D forest monitoring

Wherever you are, get in touch 🌍

Preprint: bit.ly/3HneatY

#LiDAR
August 20, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
Assistant Professor position in Traditional Ecological Knowledge at Stanford University. Applications due Sept 30, 2025

facultypositions.stanford.edu/en-us/job/49...
Stanford | Faculty Positions: Details - Assistant Professor in Traditional Ecological Knowledge
facultypositions.stanford.edu
August 6, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
The Open Source Hardware Association is launching a new Open Hardware Creators in Academia program for undergraduate and graduate students: The Student Open Hardware Fellowship.

Want to nominate or self-nominate to participate in the Student Open Hardware Fellowship?

forms.gle/aq9YCZS8gzUL...
OHCA Student Fellowship 2025 Application
The Student Fellowship is a program geared towards undergrad and graduate students who are looking for ways to expand open source hardware in their work. This Fellowship will provide mentorship opport...
forms.gle
August 14, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Annual end of summer field trip for @michiganstateu.bsky.social Hort Garden volunteer and interns to Raker-Roberta's Trial Gardens some really amazing plants on display!
August 12, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
August 12, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Discussions from #Botany2025 already bearing results! New customizable ergonomic razorblade chopper designed in 1 week for @shellygaynor.bsky.social plus the fully 3d printed bead dispenser from my postdoc headed to the @soltislab.bsky.social Monday #DisabledInBotany
August 8, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
Did you see @racheljabaily.bsky.social new open educational resource "Biology of Plants" coloring textbook when you were at #Botany2025 ? No? WELL GO CHECK IT OUT: oercommons.org/courses/the-... Gorgeous illustrations by MGB Hurst 😍
The Biology of Plants Coloring Textbook
The Biology of Plants Coloring Textbook was created by Dr. Rachel S. Jabaily (Colorado College Dept. Organismal Biology & Ecology) and M.G.B. Hurst (Colorado College class of 2025) with a grant from t...
oercommons.org
August 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
Congratulations to PRI grad student Daniel Mok (@dmokplants.bsky.social) for being awarded Best LI-COR Oral Presentation in the @bsa-ecophys.bsky.social section at #Botany2025 for his talk, "CAM photosynthesis in the carnivorous plant genus Pinguicula (Lentibulariaceae)!"

#PlantScience #BSAecophys
August 5, 2025 at 5:00 PM
First day of field work since bee-ing back from #Botany2025 who likes honey?
August 5, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
August 4, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Mason McNair, PhD (he/him)
Congrats to the section award winners. Thanks @li-corenv.bsky.social for sponsoring.

Best Phys/Ecophys Oral Presentation:
Malinda Barberio, University of Wisconsin - Madison
"Exploring Foliar Water Uptake in Neotropical Epiphytes"
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#bsaecophys #botany2025
August 4, 2025 at 12:59 PM