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Redwood trees in California

A University of Kansas researcher has been awarded a nearly $1 million federal grant to study how redwoods and other large trees have adapted to a changing planet over the last 300 million years.

Kelly Matsunaga, an assistant curator and assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, has been awarded a $946,000 National Science Foundation grant to study conifers. The trees, which include redwoods, junipers and pine trees, are tall and long-living organisms that may provide valuable clues on how life adapts to environmental changes.

Matsunaga and her team of undergraduate and graduate student researchers will use KU’s extensive fossil record to look for changes in conifers over the course of many millennia.

In addition to the research work, the funding will allow KU to offer a new course on plant anatomy and development. The project also will include a new exhibit to be displayed in the KU Natural History Museum.

Matsunaga won the NSF funding through the agency’s Faculty Early Career Development Award, which is NSF’s top award for early-career faculty members.

photo by: Submitted

Kelly Matsunaga