EEMB grad student symposium - UPDATE

Alright, the agenda and abstracts for the EEMB grad student symposium are now online. It is this coming Saturday, February 7th in the Marine Science Building Auditorium. I went last year and the standard of talks was very good. All in all it is a very efficient way of finding out what some of the grad students in EEMB do and getting a good sense of what grad school research is like. Even if you can't make the whole day it is worthwhile checking out one of the sessions if you can.

9:00 – 9:45 am Registration and Coffee

9:45 – 10:00 am Welcome and Introduction: Dr. Bob Warner Professor and Chair of EEMB

10:00 – 10:30 am Keynote Speaker
Dr. William R. Freudenburg, Dehlsen Professor of Environmental Studies & Bren School affiliated faculty, UCSB

10:30 – 11:50 am Session A talks
• Erin Mordecai - Pathogen effects on plant diversity in a variable environment
• Alisa Hove - Seasonal variation in pollen limitation in two outcrossing species of Clarkia: Does timing matter?
• David Plachetzki - The origins and evolution of the animal phototransduction pathways
• Lindsey Albertson - Impacts of channel reconstruction on invertebrates in a restored river

12:00 – 1:30 pm Lunch (2nd floor balcony)

1:30 – 1:40 pm Post-lunch EEMB extravaganza (PLEEMBE)

1:40 – 3:00 pm Session B talks
• Nathan Derieg - Molecular basis of an adaptive trait: flower color in Aquilegia
• Becca Selden - The effects of predator cues on sea urchin growth, reproduction, and morphology
• Leah Dudley - Plant sex differences in the visiting insect community of a dioecious cushion plant, Laretia acaulis
• Michael Kuehn - Sibling rivalry versus parental control: do parents or their offspring dictate the allocation of resources within a brood?

3:00 – 3:20 pm Mid-afternoon break

3:20 – 4:40 pm Session C talks
• Sabrina Pankey - Molecular evolution of light detection in a bioluminescent squid
• Gail Drus - Synergistic use of biocontrol and prescribed fire for tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) removal
• Kyoungmin Roh - Evolutionary gene network based on shifting balance theory and simulated annealing algorithm

4:40 – 5:30 pm Beer & snacks (2nd floor balcony)
Dinner reception at the Faculty Club starting at 6:00 pm