Founded in 1886, the Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania (BSWP) is one of the oldest botanical organizations in the country. To continue this long history of botanical curiosity and education, BSWP is excited to support undergraduate student research on the flora of Western Pennsylvania.
The Allison Cusick Student Research Award
This award is named in honor of Allison Cusick for his enthusiastic and steadfast support of botanical research and education in our region. Allison is a dedicated member of the Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania, expert in the flora of the region, and former chief botanist of the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The 2025 award application period will open by early 2025, with an expected early-spring due date. Watch for an upcoming Spring 2025 meeting to learn more from the 2024 student awardees about their research.
Please also consider donating to the student research fund to allow us to continue to support budding botany students in our region. A link to donate can be found on the membership renewal page of the BSWP website https://www.botsocwpa.org/membership.php
The 2024 Awardees!
In its third year, we were able to support more student research than ever before through the BSWP Allison Cusick Student Research Award, renamed this year in honor of Allison Cusick. Thanks to generous support from several BSWP members and an anonymous generous donation in Allison’s honor, BSWP supported eight undergraduate students from five universities to do summer research projects on the flora of our region. This year's awardees are:
Olivia Carson (University of Pittsburgh) “Polyploid population establishment and bioremediation potential in duckweed” • Faculty mentor: Dr. Martin Turcotte
Ryan Dow (University of Pittsburgh)
“Variation in plant traits associated with pollinator interactions as a response to allopolyploidy”
Faculty mentors: Dr. Nathália Susin Streher and
Dr. Tia-Lynn Ashman
Athalya Joseph (University of Pittsburgh) “Using herbarium specimens to estimate potential seed longevity in comparison with Beal's seed experiment”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Castilleja Olmsted
Malcolm Kurtz (Chatham University)
“Creating an herbarium collection featuring plants of ecological significance to native bird populations at Eden Hall Farm in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Linda MK Johnson
Damon LeMaster (West Virginia University) “Creating a grass (Poaceae) I.D. application in Appalachia”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Ember Morrissey
Jedidiah Lingenfelter (St. Vincent College)
“Characterization of mycorrhizal associations in Asimina triloba of Western Pennsylvania”
Faculty mentor: Dr. James Kellam
Kayleigh Long (Bucknell University) “Assessing the genetic status of the critically imperiled box huckleberry (Gaylussacia brachycera) in Pennsylvania”
Faculty mentors: Dr. Chris Martine and Dr. Melody Sain
Kayleigh Phillips (University of Pittsburgh)
“Unraveling poison ivy's response to climate change: a historical analysis of toxicity”
Faculty mentor: Dr. Mason Heberling
Kayleigh Phillips presented her project, “Unraveling Poison Ivy’s Response to Climate Change: An Analysis of Toxicity” at the following events:
Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) Undergraduate Research Project Symposium (July 23)
See her project's video here.
Pymatuning Lab of Ecology (PLE) Ecology and Evolution Student Research Symposium (August 1)
University of Pittsburgh Fall Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression Fair (October 1)
American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting (December 9th, abstract accepted to the session "Global Environment)
The 2023 Awardees
Jacqueline Baker (Penn State University): "Documenting a new taxon Allium burdickii in western Pennsylvania: habitat and herbarium studies"
Megan Gauger (University of Pittsburgh): "Weather-induced flower closure in spring ephemeral forest wildflowers and its effect on pollen viability"
Christopher Perrone (University of Pittsburgh): "Determining the effects of a changing climate on phenology of a diecious Species: Lindera benzoin"
Gillian Revenis (Chatham University): "Are exclosures really doing any good? Exploring native plant regeneration and abundance in a severely invaded suburban fringe forest plagued by white-tailed deer and non-native plant invaders"
2023 student awardee Megan Gauger (University of Pittsburgh) presented her research at the June 10, 2024 BSWP meeting in a presentation title “Weather-induced Flower Closure in Spring Ephemeral Forest Wildflowers.” She showed us captivating time lapse images of spring ephemeral flowers opening and closing and connected these movements with temperature, time of day, and weather data.
The 2022 Awardees
Jack Hatajik (University of Pittsburgh): "Mapping the population dynamics of the invasive Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) in response to climate"
Olivia Holley (Penn State Behrend): "Soil composition varies with presence of Celastrus orbiculatus"
Isiah Kratzner (West Virginia University): "Quantifying genetic diversity in a sensitive Appalachian herb, smooth rock skullcap (Scutellaria saxatilis: Lamiaceae)"
2022 Awardees Jack Hatajik (University of Pittsburgh) and Olivia Holley (Penn State Behrend) gave short presentations on their research at the May 8 meeting.
Awardee Jack Hatajik presented a poster on his BSWP-funded work at the Botany 22 Conference held in Anchorage, Alaska.
Award Eligibility: Students enrolled in an undergraduate degree program or within one year of receiving an undergraduate degree. Either student or the student’s research mentor must be a member of the society. To become a member or to renew a membership, please visit https://www.botsocwpa.org/membership.php
Scope: Research on any aspect of botany in Western Pennsylvania or immediate region. Projects may be broader in scale than Western Pennsylvania but must include at least one species found in the region. Any combination of field, greenhouse, lab, or herbarium work is supported.
Amount: $1000 per award, but higher amounts may be considered based on need. 2-3 awards are expected to be given in 2024. Funds can be used in any way toward the proposed project, such as travel, equipment, supplies, or as a stipend.
Application Materials
1) a title page listing student’s name, school affiliation (including major and anticipated graduation date), and research advisor’s name and proposal title;
2) a project description (max 2 pages), including summary of project, timeline of activities, itemized budget, and references cited;
3) one letter of recommendation from the student’s research advisor.
Student applicant and/or research mentor must be a BSWP member at the time of application.
Awards will be made on a competitive basis with the applications reviewed by the Awards Committee. Should a member of the committee be the research advisor of an applicant, he/she will be excused as a reviewer for that proposal.
Awardees are expected to provide a paragraph summary of their project to be published in Wildflowers (BSWP biannual bulletin) and will be encouraged to present their research at a BSWP meeting featuring student awardees (likely in spring 2025).
All materials should be sent electronically to the BSWP Awards Committee at heberlingm@carnegiemnh.org.
Please include title page and project description in a single PDF. The letter of recommendation may be sent separately from the student’s materials.
The deadline is now April 12, 2024. We anticipate announcing awards shortly thereafter.