Dr.Todd Barkman and his visit to RRMT

Few days before I was hospitalised, my buddy and sparring partner in Michigan, Dr. Todd J. Barkman arrived in Sabah for his tri-annual summer migration and to pay homage to the spirit of Mt Kinabalu.

No it was not the real reason.

Todd is married to a local Dusun of Kg Kiau Nulu, near Mt Kinabalu, and once in a few years he will have to be back, bringing home all his kids to see their grandies.

We managed to bring Todd to UKM for a 3-days brainstorming sessions, and to reinforce our mutual cooperation for Rafflesia research. Todd is currently a Professor in Western Michigan and widely regarded as one of the authorities on the evolution of parasitic plants. In 2000, Jamie Lim, Todd, Jamili and I published a ground-breaking paper in highly rated PNAS on the origin and evolution of Rafflesia.

Upon arrival Todd paid a visit to his ailing friend....


... and dinner with my family who are glad to be reunited with their Uncle Toddy


The next day, Todd gave a public seminar in UKM on the evolution of parasitic plants


Todd is probably one of a few caucasians who developed his craze for durians (gene transfer?) and did not miss the oppurtunity for the durian-eating fiesta

Our discussions went overdrive to cover all things parasites, and managed to help Ng Suan Beng, one of my students who is currently writing a thesis on Balanophora, to sort out the complicated taxonomy.

Well, RRMT would like to express our gratitude to Todd for his time in UKM and to the botanist-in-attendance, Mdm Donna Jackson for her patience and splendid arrangement, transport and hospitality.

More photos in my webalbum.

Tan Ai Lee's new Flickr

I was notified by Ai Lee that she could no longer access her emails in old account, and now using a new ones. Both Ai Lee and Donna are victims of email phising/hijacking of their Yahoo! accounts. Ai Lee has posted several photos of her convocation in a new home called:
Botanizing & Scenaries