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Boarding the airplane to Ardmore, my knowledge of Oklahoma was largely provided by Rodgers and Hammerstein, as I think is the case with most upstate New Yorkers. Indeed, mentioning my voyage to this state invariably prompted an off-key, although hearty, rendition of the "Oklahoma!" theme song.

Looking at the stubborn seeds that had refused to germinate, it was clear that we would be repeating the experiment for the third time. The 360 sad, little Medicago truncatula seeds stared up at me from within their plastic tubes and refused to offer any usable data.

When a sizeable group of individuals who have lived in a state their whole lives question the existence of a destination, it generally does not bode well.

As a digital clock counted down the hour we had to escape, the five of us scrambled to find clues in the books from a glass cabinet, underneath the baskets sitting on the ground and on the map of Oklahoma City that hung from the wall.

To learn more, I searched for the Noble Research Institute on my phone and started with their operational principles. I knew then that Noble was different from most research organizations.

I already know I am in good hands at the Noble Research Institute, and I also know that they have big plans for us for the rest of the summer. I certainly am looking forward to it.

As I watched this ballet of wind and water elementals I thought quietly to myself—actually I had to scream-think it because of the noise of the maelstrom – "Boy, was this Iowa boy ever ignorant. How could I ever have thought that this place was a desert?"

This summer, I hope to complete a project that contributes to a larger goal of improving how farmers around the world are able to grow their crops.