News & Announcements

Evolution Core Course website

Check the OEB Evolution Core Course website's Weekly Preparation Pages for information on readings and assignments.

Brown awarded NSF DDIG

OEB doctoral candidate Lexi Brown, who works with Ethan Clotfelter at Amherst College, was awarded a NSF DDIG for her project "The food matrix mediates carotenoid tradeoffs in a reverse-dimorphic cichlid." Congratulations Lexi!

September Science Café

Science Cafe flyer

The OEB Science Café kicks off their Fall series on Monday, September 10th at Esselon Café in Hadley, MA with “How to Build an Organism: a DIY Guide.” Dr. Craig Albertson from UMass will discuss some of his work exploring the design and diversification of the animal body form, proceeding from the genetic blueprint to principles of animal development. The event begins at 5:30pm, with light snacks provided and drinks available for purchase. All Science Café events are free and designed for a public audience. Please help us to spread the word and pass along this information to anyone you think would be interested. For more information, please see oebsciencecafe.org

The Science Café series is organized by graduate students in the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology (OEB) program at UMass. It is supported by the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Massachusetts Academy of Sciences, OEB, and the UMass Natural History Collections. We strive to bring engaging conversations about science to broad audiences by hosting Science Café events throughout the year.

OEB alum Susannah Lerman awarded NSF SEES Fellowship

2011 OEB alum Susannah Lerman was awarded a 3-year NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellowship for her project: Sustainability begins at home - Understanding linkages between stewardship, urban yards and biodiversity. She will be working with Keith Nislow and Erika Svendsen from the US Forest Service Northern Research Station (Amherst and New York City research stations) and Craig Nicolson from the Department of Environmental Conservation at UMass. Congratulations Susannah!

Ted Stankowich seminar: July 26

Spikes, Spines, Sprays, Shields and their Signals:
The Evolutionary Ecology of Antipredator Defenses in Mammals

12 noon
Thursday, July 26
222 Morrill II

Ted Stankowich, Darwin Fellow Emeritus, will present a seminar prior to his move to California to begin his new position as Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach. Pizza will be served before the seminar

Kudos to OEB students

• Congratulations to Chi-Yun Kuo, who received one of only 9 University Fellowships for Continuing Students awarded for 2012/13
• And also to Patrick Green, who was awarded the 2011/2012 OEB TA Award for his outstanding work in the Honors Introductory Biology course (Biology 197).

Recent grad Charney publishes in Evolution

Noah Charney has a paper in the May 2012 issue of Evolution, Relating hybrid advantage and genome replacement in unisexual salamanders. Noah, who received his PhD in 2011, was a student of Paige Warren's. Congratulations Noah!

Del Toro awarded Fulbright for research in Australia

OEB Doctoral Candidate Israel Del Toro will spend the upcoming year in Australia as a Fulbright Fellow working at the CSIRO Tropical Ecosystems Research Centere with Dr. Allan Andersen. During his Fellowship, Del Toro will investigate how ant communities change across environmental gradients in the tropics and savannahs of the Northern Territory and Queensland. Congratulations!

Rosario shows that mantis shrimp pack one of the strongest punches on Earth

Michael Rosario, OEB doctoral student and DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellow, is studying the physics, design and material properties behind the mantis shrimp's powerful punch. Rosario's work is detailed in a DEIXIS article . He and his advisor, Sheila Patek, have recently been featured in Ninja Shrimp on the National Geographic Wild Channel.

Concannon publishes in Molecular Ecology

First year OEB MS student Moira Concannon has a first-authored paper in the February issue of Molecular Ecology. The paper, Kin selection may contribute to lek evolution and trait introgression across an avian hybrid zone, features her undergraduate research. Concannon works in the Albertson lab. Congrats Moira!

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