Tara Hudiburg, graduate and undergraduate students conduct research in the Experimental Forest on Moscow Mountain
Kathryn Baker, a University of Idaho Ph.D. student in the College of Natural Resources (CNR), sat outside the Integrated Research and Innovation Center on campus trimming chucks of pine branches down to a more manageable size to work with while enjoying a sunny Moscow afternoon. The air around her smelled of pine and the shavings off the branches covered the ground around her. This is Baker’s job — she works in tree ecophysiology.
Tree ecophysiology is the study of how water moves through trees in times of drought and how the stress of drought plays a role in how that water moves. Her latest experiment examined how water travels through the branches.
“I’ve really liked having the experimental forest right there,” Baker said. That’s a really awesome resource because that’s where I’ve done all of my projects and a lot of people who do the kind of stuff that I do, they have to travel anywhere from a few hours to days to get to their field site.” Baker said.
The only classes Baker attends now are the ones she is a teaching assistantfor, professors in the CNR department. Becoming a teaching assistant is not uncommon for graduate students.
Baker, who is from Oklahoma and graduated from Colorado College in 2012, said she knew she wanted to attend graduate school after finishing her undergrad work, but wanted to work in the field first before diving head first into graduate school. She worked many different jobs, including one on a cattle ranch and one in fish biology in Colorado.
In natural resources, many go on to work in the field by working a variety of different jobs for a short time. Many people, like Baker, do this for a little while before advancing to graduate school, Baker said.
Knowing whether or not one truly enjoys the department they work in plays a big part in picking a graduate school, Baker said. CNR at UI has a laid-back feeling, Baker said, which helps her get her work done. Graduate school also differs from undergraduate work because it’s not so much about taking the classes, it’s more about the projects, she said.
Baker said by the end of the semester, she will have been working on her project for three years, and said she thinks she has one and a half years left.
Kali Nelson can be reached at [email protected]