Dear Alumni and Friends,
Spring is a season of renewal—and in EEOB, it is also a season of discovery. As I look around our labs, classrooms, and field sites, I am reminded of why the work we do matters, and of how much your generosity makes it possible.
This issue of Biospheres focuses on one of the most meaningful ways you support our students: through generous donations. We highlight one fund, the Finch Fund, that provides our graduate students with exceptional support. Named in honor of Harry and Audrey Finch, this endowment has become a cornerstone of student research in EEOB. The stories in these pages show what that investment looks like in practice—data loggers deployed under winter ice, phylogenies of fire-adapted bamboos, periphyton communities studied across a dozen wetlands, and graduate students presenting at national conferences. These are real discoveries unfolding right now because donors chose to invest in our students.
Endowment funds provide a stable foundation that students and faculty can count on year after year. When students know support is available for field supplies, conference travel, or equipment, they can dream bigger and design better science—and those effects ripple outward into careers and communities for decades.
This issue also celebrates the Ada Hayden Herbarium’s enduring legacy, spotlights alumnus Dr. Tom Rosburg, shares new research on prairie strips and pollinators, and reflects on National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore’s recent visit to campus. Each story reflects the depth and breadth of what EEOB’s community continues to accomplish.
All of this rests on a foundation built by people like you. Iowa State’s Forever True campaign offers a meaningful opportunity to deepen that impact—ensuring the scholarships, endowed funds, and research support our students depend on grow stronger for generations to come. I hope the stories in this issue inspire you to get involved, and I thank you for your continued support of EEOB.
Warm regards,
Dr. Amy Burgin
Chair, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
Iowa State University