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The Drift
September 28, 2007

Carol Freeman, Editor
Submissions to The Drift need to be submitted by 5:00 pm on Thursday to:
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-In This Edition–
EEB Department News
    Monday Seminar Series
    Tuesday “Noon” Seminar Series
    EEB Faculty in the News
News from Other Areas
    SAMEC Outreach Seminar
    CFA Workshop – Evolutionary watersheds: Genome or biome?
    Junior Scientists Kids' Day at the UA
    College of Science Fall Commencement Ceremony
Employment/Fellowship Opportunities
    Assistant Professor/Ecology – Ursinus College
    Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
Meetings
    Research Insights in Semiarid Ecosystems (RISE) Symposium
General Announcements
    CEDO Fundraiser
    CoSSAC STAR Award Nominations
    West University Home Tour
    Car for Sale

Date:            October 1, 2007
Time:            4:30 pm
Location:       Biosciences West, Room 301
 
Dr. Thomas L. Vincent
Professor Emeritus
Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering
University of Arizona
http://www.ame.arizona.edu/faculty/vincent/vincent.php
Host: Dr. John Pepper
 
Relative Abundance
 
Dr. Vincent now studies evolution and adaptation in biological systems, and has recently published a book on "Evolutionary Game Theory, Natural Selection, and Darwinian Dynamics": http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521841704.

Tuesday “Noon” Seminar Series

Date:            October 2, 2007
Time:            12:30 pm
Location:       Biosciences West, Room 208
 
Dr. R. Craig Stillwell
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Arizona
 
The Evolutionary Ecology of Body Size and Sexual Size Dimorphism in Two Seed-Feeding Beetles

EEB Faculty in the News
 
John Pepper's recent paper in PLoS Computational Biology titled "Animal Cell Differentiation Patterns Suppress Somatic Evolution" was recently featured in the article "Why a person doesn't evolve in one lifetime" on News at Nature.com http://www.nature.com/news/2007/070917/full/070917-11.html. The paper shows that tissues organized into serial differentiation experience lower rates of detrimental cell-level evolution. Self-renewing cell populations are susceptible to somatic evolution and selfish mutatiuons, while those that are not self-renewing are not. A preprint of the paper is at http://www.santafe.edu/research/publications/workingpapers/07-07-015.pdf.

SAMEC Outreach Seminar
 
Date:            October 2, 2007
Time:            4:00 pm
Location:       UA Kuiper Space Sciences Bldg., Room 309
 
The Science and Mathematics Education Center (SAMEC) presents an outreach seminar regarding new University of Arizona Outreach Programs – “BioME” (http://bio5.arizona.edu/bioME/) and “GearUp Math Through Mariachi”.
 
Guest Speakers:
Stacey Forsyth
Bio5 Education Outreach Director
 
Elizabeth Arnot-Hopffer
Tucson GEAR UP Project Associate Director
 
For additional information, please go to: http://samec.lpl.arizona.edu/k12educators/seminars.html.

CFA Workshop – Evolutionary watersheds: Genome or biome?
Registration closes on October 3, 2007 – space is limited
 
Date:            October 11-13, 2007
Location:       Biosphere 2 Institute
 
The College of Science Center for Astrobiology (CFA) is pleased to announce its workshop entitled Evolutionary watersheds: Genome or biome?  This workshop will explore the various possibilities for how truly major evolutionary watersheds were triggered, the roles of external versus internal (cellular triggers), and the implications for the ubiquity of complex life in the cosmos.  EEB's Dr. Howard Ochman and Dr. Rick Michod are among the schedule speakers at this event.
 
Four sessions over three days will occur in the morning and late afternoon.  Early afternoons will be available for discussion and problem solving among the participants.  Graduate students and Post-docs are encouraged to participate in the poster session on Day 2.  Biosphere 2 will provide accommodations and food for the workshop.
 
For additional information or to register, please contact Anna Spitz at 626-3892 or aspitz@as.arizona.edu.

Junior Scientists Kids' Day at the UA
 
The UA Libraries' Science-Engineering Team is looking for UA faculty, staff and students to be involved in the 5th Annual Junior Scientists Kids' Day at the Science-Engineering Library on Homecoming Saturday, November 3, 2007. This free event features interactive educational science exploration for kids.
 
If your Department/Club/Educational Outreach Program is interested in presenting a science/math/engineering-related experiment or demonstration, please go to http://www.library.arizona.edu/events/jrscientists or contact Jeanne Pfander at 621-6375 or pfanderj@u.library.arizona.edu.

College of Science Fall Commencement Ceremony
 
Date:            December 14, 2007
Time:            10:30 am – 12:00 Noon
Location:       Centennial Hall
 
Please mark your calendars for the College of Science Fall Commencement Ceremony.

Assistant Professor/Ecology – Ursinus College
 
The Biology Department at Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA is currently searching for a recent Ph.D. in ecology who is eager to combine her or his scholarly interests with teaching. Ursinus College invites applications for a TENURE-TRACK ASSISTANT PROFESSOR for Fall 2008.  Responsibilities include teaching an introductory ecology/evolution course and an advanced course in applicant's specialty, and developing a research program involving undergraduates. Preference given to applicants whose research includes the application of ecological concepts to environmental problem-solving. Ph.D. required; post-doctoral research and teaching experience desirable. Further details are at http://www.ursinus.edu/jobs

Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellowship
Application Deadline: October 24, 2007
 
The Graduate College is pleased to announce the Marshall Foundation Dissertation Fellowships designed to help Arizona graduate students complete their doctoral dissertation.
 
Award:   $10,788.00 provided by the Marshall Foundation (paid Spring 2008) and a Graduate Registration Scholarship (in-state waiver of tuition for two semesters if needed, Spring 2008, Fall 2008) provided by the Graduate College (miscellaneous fees and health insurance not covered). 
 
For detailed information regarding application procedures and eligibility requirements, please go to: http://grad.arizona.edu/documents/PDF/Marshall.pdf 

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

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.

CEDO Fundraiser – “Home Sweet Home” Fiesta
 
Date:            October 13, 2007
Time:            5:00 pm
Location:       CEDO Headquarters
                   Las Conchas (south of Rocky Point)
Tickets:        $25/person
 
A “Home Sweet Home” fiesta at Rocky Point, Sonora, will blend dancing and dining with a serious purpose: the campaign to secure the beachfront home of CEDO, the Intercultural Center for the Study of Deserts and Oceans (Centro Intercultural de Estudios de Desiertos y Oceanos). The fiesta will include auctions, raffles, and a Mexican-food buffet.  The goal is to raise $50,000 to pay costs of a land settlement reached this year to protect the site in Las Conchas.
 
Reservations must be made by October 8 at www.cedointercultural.org or by calling 320-5473.

CoSSAC STAR Award Nominations
 
The College of Science Staff Advisory Council (CoSSAC) is again collecting nominations for the CoSSAC STAR awards.  This is an opportunity for you to publicly recognize someone on your staff who has done an outstanding job.  Classified staff and appointed personnel are eligible for this award. 
 
Nominations should be sent to Beth Sanchez (EEB mailbox or via email at esanchez@email.arizona.edu) by Wednesday, October 10, 2007.  Presentation dates and times (most likely in November) will be arranged with the nominator once winners have been selected by the CoSSAC Staff Recognition committee.
 
For additional information and nomination forms, please go to:  http://cossac.arizona.edu/ua_star_program.html

West University Home Tour
 
Date:            October 14, 2007
Tickets:        $12.00 in advance
                   $15.00 day of event
 
The UA Visitor Center will be participating in this fall’s West University Neighborhood’s Home Tour. This year’s tour theme is “The Creative Heart of Tucson” featuring the homes and studios of West University artists. The Visitor Center is located at 811 N. Euclid in the West University neighborhood. Tickets can be purchased at the Visitor Center during normal business hours, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, M-F. 
 
This year, many historic residential homes, as well as several nonresidential structures, will be showcased.  The downtown area shuttle bus known as “Ticet” will be offering free rides around the neighborhood to help visitors get to the many different sites on the tour.
The Visitor Center will have free refreshments for tour participants and free parking during the home tour, available on a first-come, first-served basis. This year the Visitor Center is showcasing its newly-installed sustainability features including solar panels, cisterns for water collection and a new Sonoran Desert Landscape palette contoured to maximize water collection during rain events. 
 
Please join us in this collaborative neighborhood-university effort by purchasing your tickets today. For more information call Heather Lukach, UA Visitor Center Director at 621-5130, or Sarah Evans, Neighborhood Relations Coordinator at 626-3073. 

Car for Sale
 
2003 Honda Civic Hybrid - $15,000, excellent condition. 45,000 miles, original owner, meticulously maintained, Michelin tires, non-smokers without pets, approximately 42 MPG. Silver/blue exterior, beige interior, automatic, 4-door. Photos soon to be posted on our craigslist ad. Email Margrit at memcinto@email.arizona.edu.