Hawkes Seminar (2/27) Cancelled
Christine Hawkes’ seminar, which was scheduled for 3:30pm on Friday, February 27, has been cancelled, due to inclement weather.
Archives for February 2015
Shute (MS 1984) and Rakes (MS 1989) in National Geographic
On pages 6-7 in the March 2015 issue of National Geographic, there is a shout-out to J.R. Shute (MS 1984, Zoology) and Pat Rakes (MS 1989, Zoology), two of Dave Etnier’s former Zoology graduate students. They founded Conservation Fisheries, Inc., based in Knoxville, which is devoted to the captive rearing and, where possible, the release and re-establishment of threatened and endangered freshwater fishes. They are noted for their ability to develop artificial habitats and other aspects of husbandry which will encourage their finicky charges to spawn and for the young to survive to become breeding stock for future generations. This is not easy, since many of the fishes with which they work inhabit cool, fast-flowing, highly-oxygenated streams and are picky about the substrate over which they will mate and in which to lay their eggs. They have both spent many hours in wet suits making the observations that are often a major part of their success.
Grad Student Publications
The McCracken Lab has a new paper in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases (online first).
Riley F. Bernard, Jeffery T. Foster, Emma V. Willcox, Katy L. Parise, & Gary F. McCracken. 2015. Molecular detections of the causative agent of white-nose syndrome on Rafinesque’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) and two species of migratory bats in the Southeastern USA. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 51(2).
Bernard awarded Campbell Fellowship
A 2015 Carlos C. Campbell Fellowship, from the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association, was awarded to Riley Bernard (McCracken Lab, collaborating with Emma Willcox (FWF)) for the project titled “Further Investigation of the Winter Behavior of Bats at Hibernation Sites in Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Habitat use During the White-Nose Syndrome Epizootic.”
Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage 2015
The 65th annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is April 21 to 25, 2015. This event in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and nearby Gatlinburg features a variety of wildflower, fauna, and natural history walks, motorcades, photographic tours, art classes, and indoor seminars. Registration starts Feb. 14 and continues until April 11.
Kovac’s ACS Talk Highlighted on C&EN
Jeff Kovac, professor of chemistry, is to give a talk about “Ethics of chemical weapon research” in the upcoming American Chemical Society National Conference in Denver, CO, from March 22 to 26. His talk is highlighted on C&EN web site as part of “Denver National Meeting Mania“. A C&EN must see presenter, Kovac will give the talk on Tuesday, March 24 from 3:45 to 4:15pm in Tower Court D at Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel.
Abstract
Throughout history the use of chemical weapons in warfare has been controversial. The morality of chemical weapons research is similarly controversial because several potentially conflicting obligations and codes of ethics impact the decision of the individual chemist as to whether to participate in such research. In this presentation I will discuss the complex ethical questions surrounding chemical weapons research. All chemists are members of a national community with the obligations of citizenship, but they are also professionals subject to a code of ethics. Of course, they are also members of the human community and consequently subject to the more or less universal common morality. Membership in a religious community might also add moral restraints. A key question for chemists is whether the current code of ethics can provide adequate guidance in trying to deal with this complex issue.
Looney awarded NSF DDIG
Congratulations to Brian Looney (Matheny Lab)! His NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG) will be funded!
DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics, diversification, and functional maintenance of trophic mode in Russula (Russulales)