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The Drift
August 3, 2007

Carol Freeman, Editor
Submissions to The Drift need to be submitted by 5pm on Thursday to:
eebdept@email.arizona.edu

-In This Edition–
EEB Department News
    Congratulations to Elizabeth Landeen
    Welcome Barry McCabe
    Open Enrollment for Benefits
News from Other Areas
    Center for Insect Science Guest Speaker – Dr. P. Lawrence
    Classroom Technology Demonstrations for Fall Semester
    Volunteers Needed: NCBI Database Study
    Professional Development Seminar
Course Announcements – Fall 2007
     New EEB Course Offering: ECOL 596Z
     ASTR 588A: Astrochemistry
     MIC 452/552: Antibiotics-A Biological Perspective
Meetings
    Arizona Geological Society – Dr. J.M. Timmons
    Research Insights in Semiarid Ecosystems (RISE) Symposium
Employment & Scholarship Opportunities
    Graduate Research Assistantship – School of Natural Resources
    Smith Fellows 2008 Call for Proposals
    Research Fellowship Opportunities –Australia
General Announcements
     Raptor Volunteers Needed - ASDM
     Bicycle Parking Regulations   

Congratulations to Elizabeth Landeen
 
"Cooper Ornithological Society is proud to announce its selection of Elizabeth Landeen (University of Arizona, Tucson) as a recipient of 2007 Best Student Paper Award of the Cooper Ornithological Society Annual Meeting in Moscow, Idaho for her presentation on Developmental evolution of sexual displays: model and a test of feather growth and pigmentation."
 
Congratulations to Libby on her outstanding work!

Welcome Barry McCabe
 
Please welcome Barry McCabe to the EEB Department.  Barry officially began working on Monday, July 30th as the department’s new Support Systems Analyst, Sr.  Barry will be in the office M-F, 8:00 – 5:00.  When you have a moment, please stop by BSW 310E and introduce yourself!

Open Enrollment for Benefits
August 13 through September 10

All benefit-eligible employees *must re-enroll* to ensure the continuation of benefit coverage after September 30, 2007.  Changes made during Open Enrollment become effective October 1, 2007.

Employees must ensure their address information is current by logging into Employee Link. This imperative action will help ensure all benefit-eligible employees receive their annual Open Enrollment materials in a timely manner.

To update your address:
1. Login to Employee Link with your UA NetID and password
2. Select "Online Services"
3. Select "Update Employee Address"
4. Enter, save, and confirm changes

If you do not know your UA NetID login information, please see your payroll representative (Lili Schwartz), or call 621-HELP.

Center for Insect Science Guest Speaker
 
Date:            August 7, 2007
Time:            12:00 Noon
Location:       Biosciences West 208
 
Dr. Peter A. Lawrence
Department of Zoology
University of Cambridge
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Cambridge, UK
 
Why we are scientists
 
Host: Dr. Danny Brower, dbrower@u.arizona.edu, 621-5311

Classroom Technology Demonstrations for Fall Semester
 
Interested instructors are invited to take advantage of demonstrations on how to use the various pieces of technological equipment available in their classrooms.  Following the demonstrations there will time provided for practice.  You are encouraged to bring actual instructional materials with which you will be working this semester. 
 
To schedule a demonstration/practice session during the week of August 13-17, please call 621-3852.

Volunteers Needed: NCBI Database Study
 
WHO:  Undergraduates, graduates, faculty, and researchers in biomedical fields
 
WHAT:  Please consider participating in the bioinformatics-related research project "Assessment of User Skills and Efficiency in the Application of Bioinformatics Resources to Answer Biological Questions".
 
WHY:  Participants in this national study will help bioinformatics investigators understand how researchers use online resources available from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The results of the research will have implications for bioinformatics training, database and tool design, and database and webpage interface design.
 
HOW:  There are three ways to participate: a one hour online assessment, a one hour one-on-one observational session, or a one and one-half hour focus group session. Depending on the session, participants will receive a gift card, lunch, or breakfast.
 
WHEN:  August 13-15, 2007.
 
WHERE:  1) UA Science and Engineering Library (SEL) or
            2) UA Health Sciences Library (AHSL)
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=30uEUU4DaVcd18og0fdmug_3d_3d
 
All participants in any of the sessions must be age 18 or over.
The project is funded by the Medical Library Association's Donald A.B. Lindberg Fellowship and approved by University of Florida Institutional Review Board 02; Protocol #2007-U-212.

Professional Development Seminar
Creating Sustainable Green Building Residential Communities: Learning from the Leaders

Hosted by The University of Arizona's Planning Degree Program and the Southern Section of the Arizona Planning Association
 
Date:            August 24, 2007
Time:            11:30 am – 3:00 pm
Location:       The Manning House
                        450 W. Paseo Redondo
 
Registration deadline:  August 16, 2007
 
Featured Speakers:  Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords
John Wesley Miller, President & CEO of John Wesley Miller Companies, Chair, Green Building Committee & Board of Directors, Southern Arizona Home Builders Association (SAHBA)
 
Please contact Kristy Schmidt at kristys@email.arizona.edu, Planning Degree Program, Department of Geography and Regional Development

New EEB Course Offering: ECOL 596Z (2 units)
The Origins and Evolution of Eukaryotes

Instructor:   Jeremiah Hackett
                  hackettj@email.arizona.edu
Day/Time:    Thursday/3:30-5:30 pm
Location:     CHEM 126

This seminar will examine the early events in eukaryotic evolution including origins and evolution of the eukaryotic cell, organelles and the genomes of microbial eukaryotes.

This course is open to graduate students and advanced undergrads.  Please email the course instructor for additional information.

ASTR 588A: Astrochemistry
 
Instructor: Dr. Nick Woolf
Days/Time: T/R, 11:00 am – 12:15 pm
Location: N505A, Steward Observatory
 
This course is about the arising and preservation of complex organization in the universe.  It has a special focus on the combination of atoms into molecular form and appearance of molecules in outflow from stars, in galactic space and in our planetary system.
 
This course is cross-listed as CHEM 588A and PTYS 588A.

MIC 452/552: Antibiotics-A Biological Perspective
 
Instructor: Istvan Molnar, PhD, imolnar@cals.arizona.edu
Days/Time: T/R, 6:00 – 7:15 pm
Location: CHEM 126
 
“Antibiotics – a biological perspective” provides an introduction to the major classes of antibiotics, their modes of action, the threat and reality of antibiotic resistant “superbugs”, as well as the biosynthesis, microbiological role, discovery, and industrial production of these compounds.  The course will concentrate on the microbiological, genetic, and molecular biological aspects of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance, with less emphasis on chemistry. The course is designed to increase the awareness and appreciation of the importance of antibiotics and anti-infective research.

Arizona Geological Society
 
Date:            August 7, 2007
Time:            8:00 pm (Lecture)*
Location:       InnSuites Hotel
                   475 N. Granada Ave.
 
J. Michael Timmons
New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources
mtimmons@gis.nmt.edu
 
Late Proterozoic intracratonic deformation and basin formation in southwestern Laurentia: insights from the Grand Canyon Supergroup

Additional information is available at http://www.arizonageologicalsoc.org/.

*Dinner served at 7:00 pm, reservations required.

Research Insights in Semiarid Ecosystems (RISE) Symposium

Date:            Saturday, October 6, 2007
Time:            8:30 am - 2:30 pm
Location:       Marley Auditorium, Room 230
University of Arizona
 
Registration: $10 for students; $20 for all others (lunch included)
Registration Deadline: September 24, 2007; Earlier registration will assist event planning.
 
Poster Submission Deadline: September 14, 2007
We have space for only 24 posters, and poster abstracts will be accepted in order of submission.

The fourth annual Research Insights in Semiarid Ecosystems (RISE) Symposium will feature invited speakers presenting recent research on the USDA-ARS Walnut Gulch Experimental Watershed, University of Arizona Santa Rita Experimental Range and other outdoor laboratories.  There will also be a poster session where students and researchers are encouraged to report on completed or in-progress studies.  Time will be available for questions from the audience. 

Please use the web site http://www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/rise/ to view the RISE program, to register for the symposium, and to submit poster titles.

Graduate Research Assistantship – School of Natural Resources
Desired starting date:  January 2008
 
Graduate research assistantship (GRA; PhD level preferred) for student interested in arid lands restoration and specifically grass-shrub interactions at the critical seedling establishment phase of the shrub life cycle.  Student will be based in School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona, but will actively collaborate with USDA/ARS CO-PIs in Las Cruces, NM on a 4-year project aimed at improving our understanding of patterns of woody plant encroachment into ecosystems in the Southwestern US.  Field sites include the Sevilletta and Jornada LTER sites in New Mexico and the Santa Rita Experimental Range in southeastern Arizona.  Overall goal of the project is to provide analytical and conceptual tools to guide management aimed at shrub proliferation and grassland restoration.  The GRA will focus on shrub dispersal and seedling establishment questions within a broader framework that seeks to integrate geospatial mapping of soils, land-use history, climate, and shrub invasion patterns.  For additional details and information on application procedures, see http://ag.arizona.edu/research/archer/. 

Smith Fellows 2008 Call for Proposals  

The Society for Conservation Biology is pleased to solicit applications for the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship Program. These two year post-doctoral fellowships enable outstanding early-career scientists to improve and expand their research skills while directing their efforts towards problems of pressing conservation concern for the United States.

The Program especially encourages individuals who want to better link conservation science and theory with pressing policy and management applications to apply. We envision that the cadre of scientists supported by the Smith Fellows Program eventually will assume leadership positions across the field of conservation science. Fellows are selected on the basis of innovation, potential for leadership and strength of proposal.

The deadline for receipt of application materials is 28 September 2007.  The Program expects to select four Fellows in January 2008 for appointments to start between March and September 2008. Fellowship awards include an annual salary of more than $38,000, benefits, and generous travel and research budgets.  For detailed proposal guidelines, please visit http://www.smithfellows.org/proposalguidelines.cfm.  Questions may be directed to Shonda Foster, Program Coordinator, at sfoster@conbio.org

Research Fellowship Opportunities
James Cook University, Australia
 
Patch Dynamics and Conservation Planning: The appointee will contribute to improved understanding of how conservation planning should respond to patch dynamics of resources and disturbance in marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments.  Further information is available at: http://www.jcu.edu.au/app/jobs/positiondetails.cfm?reference=7158.
 
Integrated Planning for Coastal Catchments and Nearshore Marine Waters: The appointee will work with partner organizations to develop an explicit conceptual and technical framework for integrated coastal planning applicable to north Queensland, the Asia-Pacific region, and more generally.  Further information is available at: http://www.jcu.edu.au/app/jobs/positiondetails.cfm?reference=7159.
 
Closing Date for Both Fellowships: Friday, August 10, 2007

Raptor Volunteers Needed – Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
 
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is in need of seven energetic individuals to help with the care, feeding, and training of birds of prey.  These volunteers will assist with the museum’s Raptor Free Flight Program.  For additional information, please contact Caroline C. Wilson, ASDM Volunteer Coordinator, at 520-883-3071.

Bicycle Parking Regulations
 
Bicycle parking has been available throughout our campus for many years and governed by specific Parking and Traffic Regulations for non-motorized transportation.  These regulations are designed to keep our buildings safe and clean, and to prevent unnecessary maintenance of floors and walls.  They are also designed to ensure that bicycles will be placed in areas that do not block travel through emergency accessible areas--in particular University building stairways exits and entrances.  These regulations were developed jointly by the input of Risk Management & Safety, Facilities Management, and Parking & Transportation Services. They can be found, in total, by visiting: http://parking.arizona.edu/pdf/regulations-bicycle.pdf. 
 
We understand that many of you are concerned about safe and convenient parking for your bicycle.  For that reason, we now offer several alternatives to the traditional bicycle rack.  Six campus garages now include secure low-cost bicycle enclosures. For your convenience, we also continue to add secure bicycle lockers throughout campus.  Please call 626-PARK or visit http://parking.arizona.edu/alternative/bike_parking.php for more information about bicycle racks, enclosures and lockers.