EEB undergrad wins in EUReCA competition

EEB undergrad Devin Jones won first place in the EUReCA undergraduate research symposium, Ecology, Evolution, and Water Quality category, at UT. Devin's poster was on "Fall Migration of Corn and Rice Strains of Spodoptera fruigperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Southwest Texas". She conceived of the project and performed all the field and lab work as well as the analyses. She was mentored by EEB Dept. Head Gary McCracken and EEB PhD student Jennifer Krauel.

EEB/NIMBioS at USA Science and Engineering Festival

Sarah Wood, undergraduate in the Classen lab, teaches elementary students how to measure plant traits.

The USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 28 and 29 in Washington, DC brought the excitement of science to people from around the country. EEB and NIMBioS teamed up and presented two booths in the festival. Emily Austin and Jessica Bryant, Classen lab graduate students, taught Science Fest attendees about fungal decomposition of wood using decaying logs in terrariums. Sarah Wood, an undergraduate in the Classen Lab, and Kelly Sturner, education and outreach coordinator in NIMBioS, taught visitors about intra- and inter-specific variation in Solidago plants by having them measure stem and leaf traits. Both booths encouraged observations, data collection and graphical analysis. Many Science Fest attendees were families with elementary or middle school-aged children, but several teachers were there to pick up science project ideas for their classrooms. In all, an estimated 300,000 people left the event having learned at least one thing: science is exciting!

EEB Newsletter

The most recent version of the EEB Newsletter has appeared. You can download a PDF, submit items to the editor, or get an email subscription here.

ORNL summer research includes EEB alumni

Two UTK EEB alumni are involved in work at Oak Ridge National Labs this summer on the effect of rising carbon dioxide levels on plant growth. Colleen Iversen was a graduate student in EEB and is now an ecoysystem ecologist at ORNL, while Lauren Breza was an EEB undergrad. Both worked in Aimee Classen's lab while at UT.

See WBIR's story about this work here.

Outstanding EEB undergraduate

The award for outstanding EEB undergraduate went to Lauren Breza. Lauren started research at UTK just after high school, and worked in the Boake, Sanders, and, most recently, Classen labs.

Gary McCracken took pains to note that competition for this award was intense this year, with several other excellent nominees, especially Sarah Wood, Matt Letre, and Heather Tran, all graduating this spring.

Undergrad summer research

EEB undergraduate Heather Tran will be an REU student at the Sevilleta LTER this summer.

Undergrad Sarah Wood received a $4500 scholarship to work at the Rocky Mountain Biological lab (RMBL).

EEB undergrads in science writing workshop with Nature editor

EEB undergraduates Sarah Wood, Danny Lusk, and Alix Pfennigwerth were invited to attend a science writing workshop with 'Nature' Magazine Editor M. Mitchell Waldrop.

Phi Kappa Phi award winners at EUReCA

Assistant Professor Brandon Matheny sponsored two undergraduates, Pawel Kosentka (biochemistry concentration) and Sarah Sprague (psychology major), in an undergraduate research project that examined the evolution of fungal toxins in the mushroom family Inocybaceae. This work was also performed in collaboration with Dr. Shawn Campagna and Amanda May in the Chemistry Department. Pawel and Sarah's research was featured at the Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement, also known as EUReCA. Of the 187 presentations, Pawel and Sarah's poster won one of three Phi Kappa Phi awards. See http://research.utk.edu/eureca/winners_11.shtml for more information.

UT EEB undergraduate at STEM Education Research Conference

Sarah Wood, an EEB sophomore, was one of 9 undergrads from across the state of TN selected to present a poster and attend the MTSU 5th annual STEM Education Research Conference Funded by Tennessee Space Grant and MTSU. For more information see this article in the Tennessean.

UT EEB undergraduate teaches science on the National Mall

UTK EEB undergraduate Sarah Jeanne Wood recently participated in a 2-day Science Expo on the National Mall, where half a million people came to learn about science and engineering. Sarah presented on her research on intraspecific variation in Solidago, done in collaboration with postdoc Lara Souza and EEB assistant professor Aimée Classen. For a detailed story, please see this article from UTK's Arts and Sciences magazine, Higher Ground.