Faculty throughout the campus use the Kaplan Orchid Conservatory for research projects. We have limited space available for research, and all projects must be approved by the KOC Advisory Committee. If you are interested in using space in the greenhouses or living collections material for your research, please complete the Research Request form. Questions can be directed to Dr. Lisa Wallace or Darrin Duling. Fees may be imposed for the use of space. Student research projects are only allowed under the supervision of a faculty member. Students interested in conducting research at the KOC should contact a faculty sponsor. Partnerships with non-ODU institutions pursuing research may also be available. Findings from this project could aid in reestablishing certain threatened species in areas where they once thrived but no longer exist, as well as in the development of new orchid cultivars for horticultural purposes.
Examples of research projects that have been conducted at the KOC:
- Photosynthetic Blue-Green Algal Culture tests, led by Dr. James Lee and Dr. Lesley Greene. Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Diversity and evolution of North American Isoetes (Quillworts), led by Peter Schafran, Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Lytton Musselman's lab, Dept. of Biological Sciences
- Seed germination requirements of Agalins fasciculata and impact of its parasitism on native pine species, Pinus taeda and P. elliottii, led by Lisa Kolgan, undergraduate researcher in Dr. Lytton Musselman's lab, Dept. of Biological Sciences.
- Asymbiotic germination of the native orchid, Calopogon pallidus, led by Peter Schafran, Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Lytton Musselman's lab, Dept. of Biological Sciences