Rebecca Helen Penny [formerly Rebecca Penny Humphrey]
B.S., Biology, Sweet Briar College, Virginia Studio Art minor
PhD, Evolution, Ecology & Behavior, Indiana University Genetics minor
I am currently an Associate Professor in Biology and Health Science at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI.
My research interests include evolution of mating systems and pollen grain morphology in angiosperms (flowering plants), but I also I have wide-ranging interests in both ecology and evolution.
I am also passionate about teaching undergraduates, and I engage students in active and experiential learning opportunities (including service learning).
I enjoy participating in science outreach and programs that provide positive female role models to younger girls.
In my free time, I enjoy keeping up with my daughter, hiking and walking with my dog, Zeke (pictured, right), organic gardening, cooking, baking, yoga, and reading non-fiction.
Cryptic Dioecy
Why are sterile reproductive structures retained in flowers of the opposite sex?
Is this a vestige from a transition to dioecy, an exaptation related to pollinator-attraction, or even something else?
Pollen Heteromorphism
How does pollen morphology differ among grains within individuals? Among individuals in a population?
Among populations of the same species? What ecological factors might promote this variation (or lack thereof)?
Evolutionary Ecology
Generally, I am interested in understanding interesting and unexpected ecological phenomena within the context of microevolution and individual fitness