Wickett, Norman

"My research focuses on understanding the patterns and processes that have led to the extraordinary diversity of plant species existing on Earth today by linking genetic and genomic signatures to specific traits such as flower scent or habitat preference. This work is conducted at various evolutionary levels, from the emergence of land plants over 400 million years ago to recent and rapid diversification events, such as the speciation of plants on the Hawaiian Islands. In all cases, I hope that a better understanding of the origin and evolution of plant species will provide insights into how to address our current biodiversity crisis."

• Plant diversity and speciation
• Biology of mosses and liverworts
• Evolution of plant parasitism
• Evolutionary consequences of genome duplication in plants
• Development and application of bioinformatic tools for plant diversity research

• 2001-2007 PhD - Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, USA
• 1996-2001 BSc - Biology (Botany), University of British Columbia, Canada
• 2007-2008 Genomics, The Liverwort Tree of Life Project, University of Connecticut, CT, USA
• 2008-2010 Senior Bioinformatician, The Parasitic Plant Genome Project, Penn State University, PA, USA
• 2010-2011 Bioinformatics, the 1KP Project, University of Georgia, GA, USA
• 2011-2015 Assistant Conservation Scientist, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL, USA, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
• 2015-2020 Associate Conservation Scientist, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL, USA, Adjunct Associate Professor, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
• 2013-2022 Committee on Evolutionary Biology - University of Chicago, IL, USA
• 2010 - 2020 Research Associate - Field Museum of Natural History, IL, USA
• 2016-2019 Associate Editor - Applications in Plant Science
• 2019- present Senior Associate Editor - Applications in Plant Science
• 2020-2022 Senior Conservation Scientist, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL, USA, Adjunct Professor, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
• 2022-2024 Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, SC, USA
• 2022- present Secretary and Board Member, Botanical Society of America
• Since September2024 Professor of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Vienna