Congratulations to our 2026 - 2027 Scholarship Recipients!
NCB received 18 applications for the 2026 - 2027 Scholarship Program. As usual, there were many great research projects submitted for review. We are awarding twelve scholarships of up to $1,500 for the 2026 - 2027 school year which includes both CNPS chapter awards. Thank you to the Shasta Chapter for funding a scholarship relevant to their Chapter area and to the Sacramento Valley Chapter for funding two scholarships
Congratulations to the 12 students and thank you to all that submitted applications!
We are pleased to announce the awardees, their degree program and college or university, and the title of their research project. Abstracts of their research will be included in the 2026 Fall Newsletter.
Marife Auccapoma, Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University
Diversification and endemism in Zeltnera (Gentianaceae): Phylogenomic and morphological perspectives on a cryptic Pan-American lineage.
Elena Bewick, M.S., Cal Poly Humboldt
Influence of soil inoculum on plant establishment and microbial communities in restored coastal dunes.
Lynn Breithaupt, Ph.D., University of California, Merced
Potential phenological mismatches in seasonal wetlands: Testing the effects of plant-pollinator timing shifts on plant fitness.
Maya Canapary, M.S., University of San Francisco
Desert to dunes: Adaptation to climate variability across California's arid landscapes.
Sean Dillon, Undergraudate, M.S., Cal Poly Humboldt
Assessing resilience in a rare Northern California forb (Limnanthes bakeri) to drought and flooding.
Erica Fontenez, M.S., Claremont Graduate University
Phylogenetic and biogeographical analysis of Chloropyron (salty bird's beak, Orobanchaceae), a genus of salt marsh dependent species.
Anjum Gujral, Ph.D., University of California, Davis
Functional patterns of forest succession under climate change and shifting disturbance regimes.
Jennifer Hedin, M.S., Cal Poly Humboldt
Understanding threats to whitebark and foxtail pines in the Klamath Mountains, California.
Ava Joseph, Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University *Shasta Chapter Awardee*
Montane and alpine diversification in a mega-genus: A systematic and biogeographical of Western North American Astragalus.
Hannah Kang, Ph.D., Brigham Young University
Phylogenetic relations and diversification of Navarretia (Polemonicacea).
Rebecca Ryvola-Marez, Undergraduate, California State University, Los Angeles
Phylogenetics and taxonomy of Chorizanthe subgenus Quintaria (Polygonaceae).
Molly Waddington, Ph.D, University of South Carolina
Local adaptation to oceanic salt spray between populations of coastal Mimulus guttatus.