Recognizing Plant Physiology authors: Martin Bouda

Martin Bouda, first author of Xylem network connectivity and embolism spread in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.)

Current Position: Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences

Education: PhD Yale University, School of the Environment, New Haven, CT; BA University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

Non-scientific Interests: Nature conservation policy, cycling, family time.

Brief bio: I come to plant science from a physical sciences perspective, having been drawn towards plant ecophysiology as an undergraduate trying to understand how plants affect the movement of water in their environment. When a mentor at the time asked me if I’d ever considered working in plant science, the swift and honest reply came, “No.” The thought lingered, however, and my dissertation work sought to quantify the effects of root system architecture on plant water uptake. My research since has been concerned with mathematically describing plant hydrodynamic functioning across scales – from the structure and function of xylem conduit networks to the dissipation of water potential gradients within the soil-plant-atmosphere system with effects on soil moisture and land-atmosphere fluxes.