Below you will find our Spring 2024 Newsletter Spotlight for our Faculty! 
 

Carol Baskin

1. Tell us a little about yourself.
  a. How long have you been with the department?

55 years

  b. What motivated you to come to our department?

Married Dr. Jerry Baskin who took a job in the Botany Dept (Botany Dept. became part of the
Biol. Dept.) in 1968

  c. Where did you live before starting at UK?

Nashville, TN, where I was a Ph.D. student at Vanderbilt University.

2. Describe your time with the department so far.

Ups and downs but overall very good.

   a. What are you most proud or excited about?

The book I wrote on Seeds and International collaborations about seed germination ecology.

   b. What draws you to your work?

Curiosity about seed ecology and evolution.

   c. What is your favorite part of your job?

Teaching students and working with seeds.

   d. What is the most challenging part of your job?

No real problems.

3. What’s your favorite course to teach and why?

History of plants on earth. I like helping students gain a good appreciation of plants.

4. Tell us about your research interests and why you are passionate about them.

Seed ecology, biogeography and evolutionary relationships.

   a. Is this something you’ve been working on throughout your career or has it changed over time?

My whole career -- but I have gone deeper and deeper into this interest.

   b. What do you want the public to know about your research?

There are five kinds of seed dormancy, i.e. different reasons why seeds might not germinate
when you plant them. Seed dormancy is broken in response to environmental conditions;
thus, some seeds germinate in spring-early summer and other germinate in autumn.

5. What do you consider to be your greatest achievement in your career?

Writing a book: “Seeds. Ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination”
Baskin, C. C. and Baskin J.M. 2014. Academic Press/Elsevier

6. What is something that you wish others (students, colleagues) knew about what you do?

Helped young scientists in many countries write papers about seeds.

7. If you could share one piece of advice with students, what would it be?

Find a life’s work for yourself that you enjoy so much that you forget that it is work.

8. How do you spend your free time?

Embroidery, reading, gardening, cooking

9. If you weren’t a biologist, what would you be doing?

Teacher

10. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Mangoes

11. If you could meet one famous person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Alexander von Humbolt He saw parts of the New World before much of it was destroyed
by human activities.

12. Is there another question we could be asking in an interview like this?

If you could go on a long trip this summer, where would you like to go? Australia