Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Camp Invention
The Department of Biological Sciences is hosting the Camp Invention program, an exciting weeklong summer enrichment program for children entering grades one through six, this week at Southern Miss. The program is designed to inspire creativity and inventive-thinking through loads of hands-on activities and F-U-N! Children are participating in five age-appropriate modules each day, including: disassembling old machinery and using parts to make their own inventions in the
I Can Invent™ module; rebuilding a cleaner, more eco-friendly city in the
Saving Sludge City™ module; designing a sculpture garden including totem poles with meaning, mobiles with movement, and art with recycled materials in the
Art Park™ module; assembling spaceships for their voyage, designing living quarters and rovers for traveling on the planet, and creating communication devices in the
M.A.R.S.™ module; and creating mind-boggling new games in the
Recess Remix™ module. The Camp Invention program integrates science, mathematics, history, and the arts in an exciting environment conducive to learning – disguised as fun!
The USM Camp Invention program is directed by
Aimée T. Lee and taught by local certified teachers. Enthusiastic college students serve as counselors. If you are interested in finding out more about Camp Invention, please go to our website www.campinvention.org today.
Click here to see Camp
photo album - Day 1 and 2
Click here to see Camp
photo album - Day 3 and 4
Click here to see Camp
photo album - Day 5
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Oak Grove Library Outreach
Aimee Lee and Michael Sellers, one of our new graduate student this fall, talked with about 60 kids and 30 parents at the Oak Grove Library about "BUGS!" this week. Kids and parents were thrilled!
click to enlarge
Monday, 28 April 2008
Annual Spring Softball Game
The Erlenmeyer Cup was on the line Saturday morning, April 26th, and the much anticipated graduate student - faculty softball game was everything you would expect and more! Alas, a graduate student rally in the top half of the 7th inning fell short. Faculty 11 Graduate Students 9. Lots of fun, great plays, some not so great plays, a few skinned knees and bruised arms, hotdogs and hamburgers, and wonderful weather. The Erlenmeyer Cup is safe for another year.
Monday, 4 February 2008
Doctoral Student Accepts Faculty Position
Earlier this year, Austin Trousdale, a doctoral student studying the ecology of bats under the direction of David Beckett, accepted a tenure-track faculty appointment in Biology beginning this fall at Lander University, which is located in Greenwood, South Carolina. Lander is part of the South Carolina system of higher education and enrolls about 3,000 students. Congratulations to Austin!
Friday, 31
November 2007
Our Learning Center is a featured video on the
Hattiesburg American website!
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/VIDEO/71024019
This multi-purpose Center plays an important role in
undergraduate science education, teacher training in the
life sciences, and community outreach to improve biology
education and scientific literacy through Center
programs designed for all ages. Over the past three
years, faculty and students working within the Center
welcomed over 2,500 school age youth plus their teachers
and parents, church and civic youth groups, and adult
learners from as far away as Mobile, AL, and provided
informal science education for all of our guests.
Friday, 23
November 2007
Faculty Retreat part of Program Review and Planning
BSC Faculty gathered for a day long Retreat, October 18, at the
"camp" of Dr. Tom Rhea and Barbara Phillips located on the Bouie River north of campus. The Retreat provided an opportunity to reflect on our undergraduate and graduate programs, research productivity and initiatives as well as our outreach efforts in a relaxed “off campus” setting as we start program review and planning.
Friday, 9
November 2007
Congratulations to Patricia Biesiot, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, who has accepted Dean Gandy’s offer to be an Associate Dean in the College of Science & Technology. Pat will continue to teach and conduct research within Biological Sciences while accepting new responsibilities, including assessment, undergraduate research, and scholarships.
Friday, 2
November 2007
Three of our Doctoral Students Accept Offers of
Permanent Position
Jennifer Ufnar, who earned her doctorate in
Biological Sciences under the direction of Dr. R. D.
Ellender in 2006, recently became the Director of Grant
Initiatives with the Center for Science Outreach at
Vanderbilt University. Jennifer is working in a
research and outreach capacity, including development of
programs for science education reform at the K-16 level,
while continuing her research in microbial source
tracking and the ecology of methanogens.
Jennifer Owen, who earned her doctorate in Biological
Sciences under the direction of Dr. Frank Moore in 2004
and continued at USM as a postdoctoral researcher on a
NSF-funded project, recently accepted a tenure-track
Assistant Professor position in the interdisciplinary
conservation medicine program at Michigan State
University.
Danna Baxley, who successfully defended her
dissertation last month, accepted a position as
Wildlife Grants Research Coordinator with the Kentucky
Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources where she will
coordinate wildlife grant proposals and projects while
working with academic institutions, non-government
organizations, and government agencies to form
conservation partnerships.
Tuesday, 2
October 2007
Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship
Last year, Dr. Sandra Leal was awarded a Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowship to support her postdoctoral research studies in developmental neurobiology at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, in the laboratory of Dr. James Skeath. She will also receive a grant-in-aid from the Ford Foundation this year as she continues her studies as a new Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Dr. Leal is attending the annual Conference of Ford Fellows this week in Irvine, CA, where she will participate in an academic exchange session in the division of biomedical sciences. The title of her presentation is: “The T-box Transcription Factors Nmr-1 and Nmr-2 are Key Neural Fate Determinants”.
The Ford Foundation was chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and two Ford Motor Company executives to provide funding for scientific, educational, and charitable initiatives. Since then, the Ford Foundation has grown as an internationally recognized philanthropic organization that strives to achieve a fourfold mission: "to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement." Every year, the Ford Foundation awards 35 dissertation, 60 predoctoral, and 20 postdoctoral scholarships to support studies in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities and to promote diversity in the academic community. Ford scholars from many diverse backgrounds are privileged to serve as role models in the classroom environment and to enrich the education of all students in Colleges and Universities.
Monday, 14
May 2007
Five new
faculty colleagues join Department this Fall!
Robb Diehl
first joined the Department as an NSF Postdoctoral
Fellow following doctoral work at the University of
Illinois to pursue his interests in the ecological and
behavioral processes that influence the distribution of
migratory birds at different spatial and temporal
scales. As a computational biologist, Robb has aptitude
in areas that complement his biological interests,
including programming, managing and analyzing large data
sets, signal processing, automated electronic data
collection, and using remotely sensed data to locate
animals in space and time.
John “Nick” Griffis accepts responsibility for
instruction in our Human Anatomy and Physiology Program.
Nick, who earned his MS degree from The University of
Southern Mississippi emphasizing microbiology, has
taught several courses for us as an adjunct instructor
while serving as the University’s Biological Safety
Officer.
Sandra Leal, a Developmental Biologist, joins us
following a postdoctoral appointment at the Washington
University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, during
which time she was awarded a Ford Foundation
Postdoctoral Award from the National Academies of
Science. Sandy earned her PhD in Cellular and Molecular
Biology at St. Louis University Health Sciences Center,
and is intent on applying interdisciplinary approaches
grounded in biochemistry, molecular biology, cell
biology, genetics and behavior to identify mechanisms
guiding the cellular organization, development and
function of the Drosophila central nervous system.
Tim McLean earned his PhD in Genetics and Molecular
Biology at the University of North Carolina – Chapel
Hill and was awarded an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in
Microbial Biology while affiliated with the University
of Southern California. Tim has spent time during his
post-doctoral experiences concentrating on blending
marine microbial ecology with bioinformatics and
molecular biology to advance the growing specialty in
algal molecular ecology. He joins us from the Oceans and
Human Health Center at the University of Miami’s
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
where he held an OHH Post-doctoral Fellowship.
Jennifer Walker, a marine invertebrate zoologist with a
concentration in malacology, first joined the Department
as a Visiting Assistant Professor on the Gulf Coast
campus fall 2006. Jennifer earned her PhD in Biological
Sciences/Marine Science from the University of Alabama,
followed by a postdoctoral appointment at Kent State
University where she developed interest in the
phylogenetic relationships and molecular evolution of
Unionoid freshwater bivalves that exhibit both maternal
and paternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA in a
system termed doubly uniparental inheritance. We are
excited that Jennifer is staying with us as we continue
to develop the biological sciences on the Gulf Coast.
Wednesday, 9
May 2007
Annual Spring Reception
Biological Sciences Learning Center, Ground Level Mississippi Hall
Faculty, staff, students and visitors attended the Department’s Spring Reception
when Professors Anderson, Hairston, and Pessoney were honored upon their
retirement.
We also recognized several graduating seniors who distinguished themselves
inside and outside the classroom.
Pictured
left to right:Zach Parish, Brooke Wheeler,
Madhavi Patel, Jessica Davis, Frank Moore, Karen Jefcoat.
Not shown Erin Fortenberry, Shehzeen Shams and Stephen Daigle.
|
News and Events