21 April 2009

Bigwigs

In preparing a chapter of my thesis for publication, The Advisor and I got to wondering if Astragalus, the genus of my study plant, is the largest genus of flowering plant. It has 2000+ species in it, sometimes as high as 2500 species depending on who you ask. So he emailed a colleague who emailed some colleagues... you get the idea. Yesterday The Advisor received an email from PETER RAVEN saying that he's not sure if Astragalus is The Biggest Genus, but that it's certainly in the top five largest genera, and that he'd consult with some colleagues and get back to us.

Peter Raven, for those who don't know, is a Botanical Bigwig. He wrote the General Botany book that I learned botany from. He has an award named after him. He's a big deal. And he's talking with colleagues about a question that directly applies to my thesis?! ACK!

This is both really cool and overwhelming... I feel out of my league. Peter Raven is thinking about my thesis! (kind of)

4 comments:

Mom's Sewing Vault said...

Very Cool. Enjoy the feeling! If it's worth Peter considering, you know you picked a good topic! :)

brooke said...

that's awesome! and exciting! although i don't know who this fellow is, i do know that if deborah ball were talking about my disseratation i'd be all giddy and stuff. so yeah, dig it, congrats :)

Britta said...

Good for you, that's so exciting! I love when things work out.

When you have joy, you know your life is "on purpose." It sounds as if you have your purpose since it's all flowing!

Pajama Pants Crusader said...

Wow! Congratulations!