My field is systematics, a very broad discipline defined as “the scientific study of the kinds and diversity of organisms and of any and all relationships among them,” and dealing primarily with phylogenetic pattern and the evolutionary process that shape that pattern. I have been interested in genome duplication, and my work in this area involves comparative genomics of polyploid plant species, both naturally occurring taxa and laboratory synthesized plants. Most of this work involves the large and economically important legume family (“beans”), where projects include studies addressing the origin of nodulation (symbiotic nitrogen fixation) and the study of gene families.