Undergraduates Present Their Research at the Interface

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

More than one hundred undergraduates from around the country gathered Oct. 21-22 to present their research at the third annual Undergraduate Research Conference at the Interface of Mathematics and Biology. In addition to talks and posters, participants played a fun networking game using their name tags (pictured above) and listened to a panel discussion on careers. A total of 110 participants attended from 42 institutions in 20 states and Puerto Rico and Canada. Dr. J. Carl Panetta, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, gave the plenary talk. Click here for more information and more photos. A book of abstracts is also available.

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Mathematics of Planet Earth Announces Competition for Open Source Exhibition of Virtual Modules

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

The Mathematics of Planet Earth, an international initiative by the North American math institutes, is sponsoring a competition for an open source exhibition of virtual modules. The modules submitted to the competition will be part of an open source exhibition on the theme of Mathematics of Planet Earth. They could be reproduced and utilized by many users around the world from science museums to schools under a Creative Commons type license. The exhibition will have a virtual part, as well as instructions to realize material parts. To stimulate imagination on the many domains where mathematics plays a crucial role in planetary issues. four themes are proposed:  a planet to discover (oceans; meteorology and climate; mantle processes, natural resources, celestial mechanics); a planet supporting life (ecology, biodiversity, evolution); a planet organized by humans (political, economic, social and financial systems; organization of transport and communications networks; management of resources; energy); and a planet at risk (climate change, sustainable development, epidemics; invasive species, natural disasters).  Ideas for possible modules can be found in this document. The competition is open from January 2012 to May 15, 2012, and first, second and third prizes will receive $5,000, $3,000, and $2,000, respectively. NIMBioS is a participant in a special year of broadly based programs in 2013 on the Mathematics of Planet Earth (MPE2013). MPE2013 will provide a platform to showcase the relevance of mathematics to addressing the biological aspects of planetary problems and create a context for the mathematical and interdisciplinary developments necessary to meet global challenges. For more information about the competition, click here.

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Math and Biology Activities Shared at National Teacher Conference

Posted on October 18, 2011 by admin

A high school biology teacher at NABT checking out the Black Box activity from Biology in a Box.

High school and junior high biology teachers tried out classroom activities combining math and life science learning last week at the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) conference in Anaheim, CA in a session organized by NIMBioS. Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS education and outreach coordinator, led the session titled Biology by Numbers from Biology in a Box, where she presented “The Black Box: Introduction to the Scientific Method and Probability,” “It’s in Your Genes, the Counting Principle and Tree Diagrams” and “Forest Pests: Beetle Attack!”. All three activities were borrowed from K-12 education outreach program Biology in a Box activity booklets (available free to download on the web here) and require only a few easy to find and inexpensive materials. If you or anyone you know might be interested in a copy of any of these activities as presented at NABT, contact Kelly Sturner at ksturner@nimbios.org.

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Tennessee Education Leaders Learn About NIMBioS Outreach

Posted on September 27, 2011 by admin

Kathy DeWein shares information about Biology in a Box with educational leaders in the conference exhibit hall

Hundreds of school principals and superintendents at the Tennessee Educational LEADership Conference viewed Biology in a Box materials and were introduced to NIMBioS outreach programs in Nashville last week. About 1,800 educational professionals attended in all. All ten Biology in a Box units were displayed, including the ones now revised with quantitative activities. Information was also available regarding the upcoming Undergraduate Research Conference as well as the ongoing Teacher Collaboration Program. Two teacher collaborators with the Biology in a Box program, Kathy DeWein and Gale Stanley, exhibited the programs. DeWein said interested leaders from 31 Tennessee school districts were introduced to Biology in a Box.

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NSF CAREER Grant Awarded to Board Member

Posted on September 21, 2011 by admin

Mariel Vazquez, associate professor of mathematics at San Francisco State University

Mariel Vazquez, a member of the NIMBioS Board of Advisors, is the recipient of a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for her innovative work on DNA topology. Vazquez is an associate professor of mathematics at San Francisco State University. Her research applies knot theory to the study of DNA. NSF’s prestigious CAREER grant is awarded to faculty early in their careers who are conducting outstanding research and working on creative ways to integrate research and education. For more information on Vazquez’s work and the award, see the press release here. Vazquez will also give the keynote talk, titled “DNA Unknotting and Unlinking,” at the NIMBioS Undergraduate Research Conference on Oct. 21. Congratulations, Dr. Vazquez!

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NIMBioS a Partner on Grant to Train Math and Science Teachers

Posted on September 20, 2011 by admin

A STEM education seminar series co-hosted at NIMBioS and a chance for pre-service teachers in math and biology to join the summer NIMBioS REU program are the planned collaborations resulting from a national grant awarded to UT’s VolsTeach program.  VolsTeach allows undergraduates in math, science, or engineering to pursue concurrent certification in secondary teaching. The program was recently awarded a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Program. The STEM education seminar series will begin in 2012 and meet monthly, with the first speaker expected to talk on teaching climate change. The award will pay for many scholarship opportunities for the teachers-in-training through internships with various programs, including the NIMBioS REU program. Interested VolsTeach students can apply for the competitive REU program when the application process begins next February. If accepted, participants’ expenses for REU will be covered by the new grant. For more information on the award and other ways it will enhance teacher training through the VolsTeach program, check out UT’s press release here.

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Biology in a Box — The Movie!

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

In this video about Biology in Box, you’ll discover how the program helps kids from kindergarten to 12th grade learn about the wonders of the natural world, while also learning the scientific methods and math skills needed to understand that world. NIMBioS has added quantitative exercises into the ten hands-on, inquiry-based life science units, with more under development. Many activities are now useful for teaching both applied mathematics and life science, and the connections between the two. The video features interviews with 7th grade science students, middle school science teacher Gale Stanley, Biology in a Box founder and UT professor Susan Riechert, and Production Manager JR Jones. For more information about how to enroll in the program for your school, visit https://legacy.nimbios.org/biologyinabox

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Gross Reappointed to National Academies’ Board

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

Dr. Louis Gross, NIMBioS Director

We’re please to announce that NIMBioS Director Louis Gross has been reappointed to serve as a member of The National Academies Board of Life Sciences, Division on Earth and Life Studies, one of six subject area divisions that enlist the nation’s top experts to respond to requests for advice from the Federal Government, states, and some foundations. The Division produces about 60-70 of reports each year, representing the most authoritative source of scientific and technical information for the nation. One of the most recent reports on which Dr. Gross helped author is A New Biology for the 21st Century, which calls for a greater integration within biology and closer collaboration with physical, computational, and earth scientists, mathematicians and engineers to find solutions to four key societal needs: sustainable food production, ecosystem restoration, optimized biofuel production, and improvement in human health. Dr. Gross is also the Board liaison to Academies’ Standing Committee on Use of Emerging Science for Environmental Health Decisions. The next meeting of the Standing Committee in which Dr. Gross will participate is a meeting this month on green chemistry and toxicology.

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NIMBioS Outreach: Girl Scouts Identify Wildlife Tracks

Posted on September 9, 2011 by admin

Suzanne Lenhart (left) talks to area Girl Scouts about her work at NIMBioS

By examining wildlife tracks imprinted in clay, area Girl Scouts learned how to identify the animal that would have made them in a recent outreach activity led by NIMBioS at Cherokee Caverns in Knoxville.  Using materials from Biology in a Box, about 40 girls from fifth grade to college counted the toes, measured the width of the prints, looked for traces of webbing or claws and followed dichotomous keys until they arrived at the right animal name.  They were guided by Suzanne Lenhart, associate NIMBioS director of education, outreach and diversity; Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS education and outreach coordinator, and J.R. Jones, Biology in a Box production manager. After the track identification exercise, the girls also learned about identifying wildlife scat and studied sterilized scat specimens preserved in plastic boxes. The activity was part of an area Girl Scout council event where the scouts participated in a variety of  activities inspired by science and nature. The materials and activities from the wildlife identification exercise can be found in Unit 7: Backyard Naturalist in the Biology in a Box program, a series of hand-on thematic units designed to enrich K-12 science curriculum. NIMBioS partially supports this program and contributes to the development of quantitative exercises that are integrated into the biology activities.

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New TalkingScience Post: Epidemic!

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

Photo By Bart Everson, via Wikimedia Commons

TalkingScience now features our latest post: “Epidemic! The Handshake Game.” In the game, 4th through 8th graders learn a simple disease model by being an active participant in a mock “outbreak” of handshake disease. The game was created by Rebecca L Smith, DVM MS PhD, post-doctoral associate at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Read more at TalkingScience, the project of the Science Friday Initiative, the nonprofit partner of the NPR radio program Science Friday. Other NIMBioS posts on Talking Science include:

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