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News, Honors and Awards
Department of Biological Sciences Newsletter, Biobriefs
(PDF)
Spring, 2007
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Zeno
Bailey, Ph.D., who was a Botany
Department faculty member from 1969 to 1987 passed away on November 5, 2007 in Boaz, Alabama at the
age of 86. Dr. Bailey was an avid gardener and loved to play the fiddle. He was
a veteran of World War II, having served with the Army Air Force in the Pacific
Theater. He was a graduate of Auburn University and Ohio State University.
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Gary Bulla and Paul Switzer were promoted to the rank of
Professor, effective Fall Semester 2007.
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New Faculty: |
Barbara
Carlsward |
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Specialty Area: |
Plant Anatomy and Systematics |
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What attracted you to EIU: |
The dedication to teaching and academic
excellence were my primary attraction to EIU. The department of biological
sciences seems like a great place to work, with diverse group of faculty.
Plus, I have an opportunity to teach courses I love to great students. |
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Academic/Employment: |
1. B.S.Physics, University of Florida
2. M.S.Botany, University of Florida
3. Ph.D Botany, University of Florida
4. Postdoc research associate, U. of Florida Botany Department |
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Other Interests: |
Plant photography, field botany and Euchre. |
Catherine Ciak (Dr. Fischer, mentor), Johnathon Morgan (Dr. Marjanovic,
mentor)
and Kim Vernier (Dr. Methven, mentor) were presented with Graduate
Student Investigator Awards. The Graduate Student Investigator Award (GSI)
program was developed by the Dean of the College of Sciences to support graduate
research and to provide a forum for the presentation of superior graduate
student research.
Chuck Costa was elected as Chair of the Council on
Graduate Studies for 2007-2008.
Congratulations to Joanne Crawford and her
advisors Dr. Tom Nelson and Zhiwei Liu. Joanne's Master's thesis
Mating, Kinship and Population Structure in Illinois Beaver Populations has
been selected as Eastern's nomination for the 2007 Distinguished Master's Thesis
Award of the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools. This is the highest
form of recognition for a graduate thesis at Eastern Illinois University.
Bud Fischer received the 2007 Alan and Carlene Baharlou Distinguished Service Award.
Ann Fritz was named 2007-2008
Faculty Laureate.
Congratulations to Dr. Craig Gatto, a former
undergraduate and graduate student at Eastern and now professor at Illinois
State University, who has been selected to receive a 2008 Outstanding Graduate
Alumni Award.
Hilary Hancock (Dr. Marjanovic, mentor), George Hickman (Dr. Coons and
Nancy Coutant, mentors,) and Elizabeth Levenda (Dr. Coons and
Nancy Coutant, mentors) were presented with Scholars in Undergraduate Research
at Eastern Awards (SURE). The SURE program fosters undergraduate research
participation in the College of Sciences. Undergraduate involvement in research
with mentoring professors is a rewarding experience for students. The goal of
the SURE program is to facilitate research activities through an incentive
program for students. The SURE awards are awarded to undergraduate
students in their junior or senior years. Students are encouraged to present
their research in a professional setting (a local or state conference, student
association/club meeting or classes).
George Hickman and Elizabeth Levenda were selected
as 2007 "Young Botanists of the Year" by the
Botanical Society of
America.
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New Staff: |
Pamela
LeVine |
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Specialty Area: |
Pre-Health
Professions Advisor |
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What attracted you to EIU: |
This is a wonderful opportunity to work with
the students interested in pursuing a career in the health professions.
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Academic/Employment: |
M.S. Guidance and Counseling, Eastern Illinois
University
University of Illinois
Chemistry/Beckman Institute (1999-2007)
Career Center (Health Professions) (1995-1999) |
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Other Interests: |
My (almost) 10 year old twins and their
activities (soccer, basketball, and baseball/softball) keep my husband and
me busy. Fortunately we enjoy those sports along with football. We enjoy
traveling. Our most memorable trip was white water rafting through the
Grand Canyon. |
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James McGaughey, Ed.D. retired at the end of the
summer semester, 2007. He received his MS in Botany from EIU in 1978
and his doctorate from the University of Illinois in 1997. He taught
courses in microbiology, served as the department's Teacher Certification
Advisor and as the coordinator for the graduate program in natural
sciences. Dr. McGaughey’s research interests in the field of education
included evaluation of science curricula and its impact on scientific
literacy among students. He also conducted research in water and
environmental microbiology. |
Kip McGilliard received the 2007 College of Sciences
Teaching Excellence Award.
Ed Moll (retired) gave the keynote address at
meetings in St. Louis in August and was awarded the first annual John Behler
Turtle Conservation Award honoring his excellence and leadership in
international turtle conservation. Years ago, he was the first chairman of the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Turtle Specialist
Group. He also had his hip replaced in late November and is making a rapid
recovery.
Congratulations to Susie Mounce who has been
asked and agreed to author a student study guide to accompany Stuart Ira Fox's
new text "Fundamentals of Physiology". She will be working with the editors of
McGraw-Hill Higher Education as well as Dr. Fox with an estimated publication
date of early 2008.
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Garland T. Riegel, Ph.D. passed away on
November 12, 2007 at Heartland Christian Village in Neoga at the age of 93.
Dr. Riegel extensively developed
the orders represented in the Spooner-Riegel-Goodrich Insect Collection between
1948 and 1978 and retired from the Zoology Department in 1978.
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Research Grants and Awards
Marina Marjanovic (joint proposal with Barbara
Lawrence in Chemistry) and Gary Bulla have been notified that their Proposal
Initiative Fund Grants were approved for FY 2007-2008.
Britto Nathan received a 2008 Alzheimer's Disease
Research Fund Grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Williams Travel Grants
William Beaty (Dr. Liu,
mentor)
Catherine Ciak (Dr.
Fischer, mentor)
Joanne Crawford (D.
Nelson, mentor)
Jay Gerber (Dr. Pederson,
mentor)
Corinna Hanson (Dr.
Nelson, mentor)
Jessica Rasmussen (Dr.
Pederson, mentor)
Terri Thompson (Dr.
Bollinger, mentor)
Amanda Steber (Dr. Fischer, mentor) and
Amanda Hance (Dr. McGilliard, mentor) received Undergraduate Research Awards
Graduate School Research/Creative Activity Awards.
William Beatty (Dr. Liu,
mentor)
Jeff Fore (Dr. Fischer,
mentor)
Lee Gross (Dr. Mullin,
mentor)
Brandon Jutras (Dr. Liu and Dr.
Laursen, mentors)
Jeremy Klass (Dr. Meiners,
mentor)
Peter Prey (Dr. Meiners,
mentor)
Kimberly Vernier (Dr. Methven,
mentor)
Stephen Scott Warner (Dr.
Fischer, mentor)
2007 Summer Research/Creative Activity Awards
Eric Bollinger, Gary Bulla,
Barbara Carlsward, Janice Coons,
Karen Gaines, Marina Marjanovic
and Scott Meiners.
2007 CFR Awards
Gary Bulla, Steven Daniel, Karen
Gaines, Jeff Laursen, Zhwei
Liu, Scott Meiners, Stephen Mullin and James Novak.
2007 Redden Grant Awards
Barbara Carlsward, Karen Gaines,
Zhwei Liu and Scott Meiners.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Research
Awards
EIU University Communications Press Release
Andrew Methven and Vince Hustad (Graduate Student), "Macrofungi Associated with
Tree Windfall in Brownfield and Trelease Woods" to help address a trend observed
in mixed forests in the Midwest where Northern red oaks are rapidly being
replaced by sugar maples.
Janice Coons and Marissa Jernegan (Graduate Student), "Comparison of Plant
Species and Soil Traits at Sites Where Physaria ludoviciana is Present or
Absent in Three States" to survey plant species and to compare soils in parallel
areas (within close proximity of each other) where the plant is present or
absent in three states.
Nancy Coutant and Janice Coons, "Distribution of Brochures and Installation of
Plaques for Gardens Demonstrating Illinois - adapted Native Plants" To print and
distribute these brochures and to produce and install plaques in the prairie and
woodland demonstration gardens on the campus of EIU.
Janice Coons and Nancy Coutant, "Distribution of Posters and Implementation of a
Logo to Identify Native Plants Available for Landscaping." These will be
used at garden centers, nurseries, native centers, schools and county extension
offices throughout the state to help with quick identification of Illinois
plants.
Robert Fischer and Stephen Warner (Graduate Student), "Assessment of Stream
Valley Segments as Determinants of Stream Habitat Quality." Funds will help
determine if valley segments are a valid way for selecting stream locations for
determination of habitat quality.
Steven Mullin, "Colonization of Newly Constructed
Wetlands by an Amphibian Community" to assess how Wildcat Hollow State Habitat
Area ponds' physical characteristics influence establishment of breeding
populations and recruitment rates by amphibian species to these ponds.
Zhiwei Liu and Gordon Tucker, “Is Antistrophus
silphii Endangered? Preliminary Field Survey of a Rare Gall Wasp in
Illinois" to conduct a statewide survey to find out whether the species is
actually rare and deserving of an appropriate protection status.
Eric Bollinger and Terri Thompson (Graduate
Student), “Comparison of Avian Nest Success Among Linear Wooded Habitats in an
Agriculturally Fragmented Landscape” to quantify the intensity of nest
predation in hedgerow-nesting birds, and which features of hedgerows (e.g.,
length, width, adjacent habitats) are correlated with rates of nest predation.
Gordon Tucker, “Plant Inventory of Prairie Ridge State Natural Area ( Marion
County Unit).”
Publications
Baluka, A.E.C.,
and S.L. Daniel. 2007. Oxalate metabolism by Lactobacillus and
Bifidobacterium. Ann. Meet. Ill. St. Acad. Sci. 45, p. 41.
Bakhsh, A., Kanwar, R. S., Pederson, C. Bailey, T. B. N-source effects
on temporal distribution of NO3-N leaching losses to subsurface drainage water
Water Air & Soil Pollution. 181(1-4). May 2007. 35-50.
Culbertson, B.J., J. Krone, E. Gatebe, N.C. Furumo, and S.L. Daniel.
2007. Impact of carbon sources on growth and oxalate synthesis by the
phytopathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. World J. Microbiol.
Biotechnol. 23:1357-1362.
Daniel, S.L., G.L. Hartman, E.D. Wagner, and M.J. Plewa. 2007. Mammalian
cell cytotoxicity analysis of soybean rust fungicides. Bull. Environ. Contamin.
Toxicol. 78:474-478.
Jones, S. C. Jordan, W. J. Meiners, S. J., Miller, A. N., Methven,
A. S. Fungal spore dispersal by the Eastern box turtle (Terrapene
carolina carolina) American Midland Naturalist. 157(1). Jan 2007.
121-126.
Liu, Zhiwei,
Fredrik Ronquist, Göran Nordlander (2007) The cynipoid genus Paramblynotus :
revision, phylogeny, and historical biogeography (Hymenoptera, Liopteridae).
Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 304: 1-151. (pdf
)
Liu, Zhiwei,
Michael S. Engel, and David A. Grimaldi (2007)Phylogeny and geological history
of the cynipoid wasps (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea). American Museum novitates, no.
3583: 1-48. (pdf)
Preston CA, Fritz G.N, Vander Meer RK. Prevalence of Thelohania
solenopsae infected Solenopsis invicta newly mated queens
within areas of differing social form distributions. J.
Invertebr Pathol. 2007 Feb;94(2):119-24.
Poster
Presentations
Crawford, J.,
Liu, Z.,
Nelson, T.,
Nielsen, C. and C. Bloomquist
Who’s Your
Daddy? Molecular Markers for Mating and Kinship Studies in the Beaver (Castor
canadensis). 2007
Daniel S.L. and
H.L. Drake
From Clostridium thermoaceticum to Moorella thermoacetica: By
Viewing the Old, We Learn the New. 2007
Doyle, K., Norman, V.,
Daniel, S.L., and
A.H. Fritz
Concentrations and Diversity of Bacteria in the Caribbean Fruit Fly
Anastrepha suspensa. 2007
Gaines, K.F.,
Novak, J.M. and
G.L. Mills
Is the LCP
Superfund Site an Ecological Trap? A Case Study Using the Clapper Rail. 2007
Gross, L.M.,
Gaines, K.F.,
and S.J. Mullin
Atrazine in
agricultural runoff and its impacts on two anuran species in central Illinois.
2007
Mallory J., Stenslik, L.R., Bjornbak, L.., Hagstrom,
J. and G.A. Bulla
ChIP Analysis
of Hepatic Gene Silencing. 2007
Olds, M.J. and S.J. Mullin
A Levee Runs
Through It: Habitat Use by Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) in an
Aquatic Mosaic. 2007
Tucker, G., Jones, S.A., Edgin, B. and J. E.
Ebinger
Botanical
Inventory of Prairie Ridge State Natural Area, Jasper County, Illinois. 2007
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