Amanda Ingram joined the Wabash College faculty in 2004. Prof. Ingram’s research interests lie in plant systematics, the study of plant evolution and classification. Her work is currently focused on understanding the evolution of the lovegrasses, a group of approximately 400 species of grasses in the genus Eragrostis that are morphologically, anatomically, and ecologically diverse. She employs a variety of approaches to learn about these plants, including field work to collect material and explore the species’ distribution and ecology, and a range of laboratory techniques (e.g., DNA sequencing, anatomical study) that allow her to gather characters with which to build evolutionary trees. Her collecting trips have taken her to a number of fascinating ecosystems, ranging from the Namib Desert to the Ethiopian highlands to Australia’s Gold Coast. She also works with Wabash students on more local projects through her involvement in a nationwide consortium of conservation biologists working to preserve and understand native orchid species and the fungi upon which they rely.

Prof. Ingram is a native of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, and while she misses seeing mountains every day, she’s been working hard to embrace the rather less topographically interesting beauty found in Indiana’s natural areas. She also enjoys playing music and tending her urban “farm”.