Graduate Students Advise ‘Talk to Other Grads’

Posted on June 23, 2011 by admin

UT graduate students share their experiences with REU students

Talking to other graduate students is key to choosing a good mentor and deciding what classes to take and when, according graduate students who recently shared their advice with undergraduates in Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) programs at NIMBioS and the University of Tennessee (UT). The panel, which included two graduate students from the UT mathematics department and a graduate student and postdoctoral researcher in from UT’s biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology (BCMB) department, spoke to a packed classroom of undergraduates participating in both NIMBioS’ REU program and also BCMB’s REU program. Many of the REU students are considering pursuing graduate degrees. Panelists shared their experiences applying to, selecting and surviving their first years of graduate school. They spoke of adjusting to having greater independence in their education in graduate school, and also the challenges of balancing the key components of graduate school: teaching, research and coursework. The panel was jointly organized for students from NIMBioS’ REU program and the “Sensing and Signalling” REU program run by UT’s BCMB department.

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NIMBioS Visits Smoky Mountain Science Teacher Institute

Posted on June 22, 2011 by admin

Dr. Suzanne Lenhart (white T-shirt on left) and 14 middle and high school science teachers smile - they've just learned how to use Simpson's Index of Biodiversity!

 

 

 

Fourteen middle and high school science teachers learned how to quantify biodiversity yesterday when Dr. Suzanne Lenhart, NIMBioS Associate Director for Education, Outreach and Diversity, and Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS Education and Outreach Coordinator  arrived at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. The teachers are taking part in the week-long Smoky Mountains Science Teacher Institute, whose focus this year is learning about parks and climate change. Earlier in the day the teachers collected data on salamander diversity. Environmental monitoring is important for understanding how biodiversity will be affected by changes in climate. The enthusiastic group come from Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and Georgia. The Quantifying Biodiversity education module used at Tremont and created at NIMBioS is freely available here.

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Hiking in the Smokies with Summer REU/REV Students

Posted on June 20, 2011 by admin

NIMBioS REU/REV students pose in front of Big Creek in GSMNP

Summer REU and REV students at NIMBioS took a much-deserved break from their projects to hike and picnic in Great Smokey Mountain National Park. The hikers took the trail from Big Creek up to Mouse Creek Falls, a pleasant two-mile trek following a mountain stream, lined with blooming rhododendron. Upon their return they enjoyed a picnic with students from the University of Tennessee’s Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology summer REU program.

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Girls in Science Campers Do the Data Crunch

Posted on June 20, 2011 by admin

Rising 8th grade girls discovered that there was greater insect biodiversity in their woods site than their field site.

A group of 24 girls visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park for Girls in Science Camp last week learned how they could take their insect data, gathered the day before, and use math to turn it into real results. Dr. Suzanne Lenhart, NIMBioS Associate Director of Education, Outreach and Diversity and Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS Education and Outreach Coordinator, led the girls through an exercise in how to calculate Simpson’s Index of Biodiversity. The girls then applied it to their own data. Girls in Science Camp is organized and run by the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, and NIMBioS is pleased to be involved there in research and education programs as a part of our partnership with the park.

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Pesky Mosquitoes: International Group Tackles Malaria

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

Scientists in the Investigative Workshop on Malaria meet to discuss relevant models to help eradicate the disease.

A least 300 million acute cases of malaria occur each year globally, resulting in more than a million deaths. Around 90% of these deaths occur in Africa, which explains why many of the participants in the NIMBioS Investigative Workshop on Malaria Modeling and Control hail from African nations. Today marks the second day of the three-day workshop in which experts in the mathematics and biology of malaria dynamics are gathered from around the world to discuss the development of mathematical models to control and halt the transmission of malaria. The goal of the workshop is to work toward a model that captures mosquito dynamics in a changing climate, incorporates the use of a potential vaccine, and reflects the economic burden of the malaria-afflicted nations. Such a model could inform policy makers on the most effective combination of control tools as well as contribute to finding a means to eradicate malaria in the near future. Click here to read more about the goals of the workshop and a list of workshop participants.

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NIMBioS Songwriters Croon About Their Residency

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

The “Sing About Science and Math” blog hosted by Wendy Silk at UC Davis and Greg Crowther at Univ. of Washington now features Q&A interviews with all four of NIMBioS’ songwriters in residence. The goal of “Sing About Science and Math” website is to build a community of researchers to study the usefulness of music in science and math and is supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant No. 0956196. Click on the following links to read interviews with Kay Stanton, Timothy Sellers, RB Morris and Jay Clark.

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REU and REV Students See Synchronous Fireflies

Posted on June 10, 2011 by admin

NIMBioS REU/REV participants took a field trip this week to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park to see a biological phenomenon found in only one other place in the world: fireflies flashing in synchrony. The students arrived early and picnicked while waiting in line for the trolleys that would take them and the hundreds of other spectators to the prime viewing area that evening. The bioluminescent beetles did not disappoint. Shortly after 9 p.m. they began winking, and by 10 p.m. the area was flashing like an airport runway. For more information on the NIMBioS summer research experience programs, click here for REU, or here for REV. For more information on the synchronous fireflies in the Smokies, click here.

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NIMBioS Today: Dr. Thibert-Plante Teaches MATLAB

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

Postdoc Xavier Thibert-Plante instructs REU/REV students

The NIMBioS classroom is packed this morning as the REU/REV participants learn MATLAB in preparation for their summer research projects. Postdoc Xavier Thibert-Plante is today’s instructor. The program is “a high-level technical computing language and interactive environment for algorithm development, data visualization, data analysis, and numeric computation,” which is fancy for a fast-action, all-around problem solver. The six research projects for this year’s REU/REV program are as follows:

Related Links:
REU homepage
REV homepage

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NIMBioS Website Wins Award

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

We’re pleased to announce that the NIMBioS website has won a 2011 Award of Quality from the Public Relations Society of America Volunteer Chapter. The website was judged on content, navigation, visual design, interactivity, functionality and overall experience. Three levels of recognition can be awarded for each category: Award of Excellence, Award of Quality, and Award of Merit. The NIMBioS Website was entered in the “Science” category. Oak Research National Laboratory’s website received the Award of Excellence. The website is written and produced by NIMBioS Senior Analyst Jane Comiskey and NIMBioS Communications Coordinator Catherine Crawley.

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NIMBioS Welcomes 22 REU/REV Participants Next Week

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Catherine Crawley

NIMBioS is excited to welcome 22 participants next Tuesday to the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program and the Research Experiences for Veterinary Students (REV) program. The programs runs for eight weeks. Participants will live on campus and work in teams with NIMBioS postdocs and UT faculty on research at the interface of mathematics and biology. To read more about this year’s REU projects and participating mentors, click here. To read more about this year’s REV projects and participating mentors, click here. The roster for this year’s class of REU/REV participants is as follows:

  • Tiffany Blankenship (Biology, Univ. of Texas-El Paso)
  • Dana-Adriana Botesteanu (Math/French, Mount Holyoke College)
  • Alice Bugman (Veterinary Student, Univ. of Illinois)
  • Rojin Chitrakar (Biology, Eastern New Mexico Univ.)
  • Brooke Daniel (Veterinary Student, North Carolina State Univ.)
  • Frances Goglio (Biology, Univ. of Wisconsin)
  • David Haycraft (Math/Bio/Chemistry, Howard Univ.)
  • Rachel Johnson (Veterinary Student, Univ. of Tennessee)
  • Bridgid Lammers (Veterinary Student, Univ. of Tennessee)
  • Lindsay Lee (Math/Spanish, Univ. of Tennessee)
  • Shaniell Nelson (Campbell County H.S. Bio/Physical Sci. Teacher)
  • An Nguyen (Statistics, Univ. of Tennessee)
  • Cecilia Noecker (Biology/Statistics, St. Olaf College    Biology/Statistics
  • Nik Robl (Veterinary Student,  Univ. of Wisconsin)
  • Shalanda Satchell (PEER Program, Univ. of Tennessee)
  • Krista Schaefer (Math/Pre-Med, Valparaiso Univ.)
  • Shreejaya Shrestha (Math/Economics, Wesleyan College)
  • Carter Tisdale (Biomedical Sci/Spanish, Auburn Univ.)
  • Christa Wisniewski (Wildlife and Conservation Bio, Southeast Missouri State Univ.)
  • Yang Yang (Mathematical Biology/Mathematics, Beloit College)
  • Connie Yong (Math/Statistics, Univ. of Florida)
  • Kelly Zaccheo (Biomathematics/Philosophy, Univ. of Scranton)

 

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