Lanzendorf hair prize 2018: Melissa's pineapple

The winner of the John J. Lanzendorf Hair Prize for 2018 is Melissa Kenny, for her paper:

Kenny, M.C.*, M.N. Giarra*, E. Granata*, J.J. Socha. 2018. How temperature influences the viscosity of hornworm hemolymph. Journal of Experimental Biology 221(21): jeb186338.

This paper was chosen because it is a very strong piece of work — the science was rigorous and well-documented, and the writing was clear and told a nice story. The data and approach were new and were challenging to achieve. The methods took a few years to develop; it was difficult to collect even one good data point per day. We now have good data on the viscosity of insect hemolymph, at least in one stage and species, and it shows a really interesting pattern with temperature. (How do insects manage in cold temps with such high viscosities? A question that will spur new work in the lab.) Congrats, Melissa!

This is the second prize awarded since inception in 2015. (See here for the first prize.) The prize is named in honor of John Lanzendorf (Lanzy), a fantastic hair stylist—and previous dinosaur art collector of grand proportion—who took some of us grad students under his wing back in the day. Lanzy chopped off my long mane of curly locks when I decided to go short (hair).

The winner of the prize gets to do whatever they want with my hair. (I did not come up with the reward, my lab did. Don't blame me, although I guess I could have said no.)

Melissa dreadfully chose 'pineapple' as her reward. Although I look absolutely ridiculous, I kind of like it. It's growing on me. Maybe it will stay.

Way too many photos below.

Who will win the prize for 2019?

Pineappled with the winner, Melissa.

Just a coincidence. My son said not so.

New Ph.D. student Maria likes the hair solidarity.

Here's the full process in all its 2+ hour glory: