From the organization:
Notes from Nature
Project avatar for Notes from Nature - CAS Plants to Pixels

Notes from Nature - CAS Plants to Pixels

The Team

CAS Plants to Pixels

Sterling Balice: Curatorial Assistant II. A lifelong love of plants and nature led me to pursue an education in botany and ecology. Working at the California Academy of Sciences Herbarium, I prepare our fragile and irreplaceable botanical collections for imaging by the Picturae team. The snapshot of biodiversity (across both space and time) that is housed within botanical collections is often inaccessible to many. With this project I can help make this data more equitably accessible for future generations of scientists and plant nerds alike. We can only guess as to what unprecedented knowledge we may gain from endeavors such as this.
Rosielyn De Guzman: Curatorial Assistant II. As a member of this team, I play a vital role in organizing, maintaining, and preparing specimens for digitization while upholding stringent data quality standards. Outside of work, I enjoy leisurely strolls through Golden Gate Park, immersing myself in the beauty of nature. Working in the herbarium has been an enriching experience, allowing me to delve deeper into the fascinating world of plant diversity that surrounds us.
Mateo De La Roca: Herbarium Data Analyst. Hello! As the Herbarium Data Analyst I help steward data quality, write code that makes life easier for herbarium staff, and ensure the smooth sailing of our ongoing transcription and imaging initiatives. Being an avid bird watcher and lifelong nature enthusiast, working in a herbarium is something I really enjoy. Working on projects that have a tangible impact on scientific research and help safeguard the irreplaceable biodiversity of our planet feels incredibly rewarding.
Dr. Sarah Jacobs: Assistant Curator and Howell Chair of Western N American Botany. I am a botanist, a plant systematist, and an evolutionary biologist and my research aims to characterize the early stages of speciation in plants, especially the wildflowers called "the paintbrushes" (the plant genus Castilleja). I'm also a curator in the Botany department where I help to curate and steward our plant specimens, including leading the massive digitization project aimed at digitizing all of our California herbarium specimens.
Dr. Ricardo Kriebel: Curatorial Assistant III. I’m a Costa Rican biologist and got my master’s degree in ecology and evolution from San Francisco State University and a doctorate degree in plant sciences from The City University of New York in a joint program with The New York Botanical Garden. I then did postdoctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. My research focused on the phylogeny, taxonomy, and morphological evolution in the Melastomataceae (Princess flower family) and more recently on the biogeography and floral evolution of the genus Salvia (sages). At the Academy, my duties include everything having to do with plant specimens, from mounting to imaging, data basing and repairing them.
Emily Magnaghi: Herbarium Collection Manager. As the Collection Manager, I am ultimately responsible for overseeing the care of the entire 2.3 million specimen herbarium and for the quality of data we produce online. I have been at the Cal Academy herbarium for over 10 years and I've participated in our digitization efforts from nearly the beginning. Over the past 15 years, we have entered over 745,000 records of specimen label data, mainly with help from our on-site volunteers. I look forward to seeing what our online volunteers will do!
Kieran Simon: Curatorial Assistant II. I prepare the collection for imaging by categorizing and applying barcodes to specimens. I also pull the sections of the collection we are imaging each day, and then tuck them back safely where they belong. I love botany and chose to work in a herbarium because I want to help preserve a glimpse of our natural world. My favorite plant family is Ranunculaceae!