2012 - Fall Semester Speaker Schedule

Sept. 11 – Jude Maul, USDA

Jude Maul, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD 20507

Genomics approaches to improve agricultural sustainability using non-model plant systems; Cover crop trait improvement

Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) is used as a leguminous cover crop throughout the United States providing important ecosystem services in agro-ecosystems (Abdul-Baki et al., 2002; Mohler and Teasdale, 1993; Puget and Drinkwater, 2001; Seo et al., 2006; Stute and Posner, 1995).   Many traits found in hairy vetch have proven to be valuable to farmers practicing reduced input and organic farming methods and can contribute to overall farming system sustainability by reducing off farm inputs. In spite of all the apparent benefits of a hairy vetch cover crop, there are constraints that have limited its wide scale adoption among vegetable and grain producers. One key constraint to farmer adoption is variability in biological nitrogen fixation among cultivars of hairy vetch and spring flowering time.  Our approach to improving vetch adoption is to: i) begin to document the genetic diversity among most of the hairy cultivars available. ii) Link hairy vetch genotypes to traits or phenotypes that are beneficial to the sustainability of agroecosystems. iii) Understand the ecology of hairy vetch and other cover crops within farming systems towards the goal of providing farmers optimized matches between cover crop choice and cover crop expectations. 

 

Sept. 18 – Ryan Otter, MTSU (Tenure and Promotion Seminar)

Title:

Highlights of an Ecotoxicologist: Understanding the Impacts of Poisons using both Laboratory and Field Experiments

Abstract:

Ecotoxicology is an applied field in science that combines biology and chemistry to help understand the impacts of potential poisons on the environment.  In this seminar two ecotoxicological studies will be discussed: 1) Silver nanoparticles and their impact on model eukaryotic and prokaryotic systems; and 2) The potential impacts of the Kingston fly ash spill on multiple aquatic organisms.  Silver nanoparticles are the most widely used nanoparticles in manufacturing today.  Despite their wide scale use very little is understood about their impacts on the environment.  The studies highlighted in this seminar will focus on the toxicological differences between bacteria and zebrafish with respect to nanoparticle size and surface area.  In addition, a study investigating the potential impact of silver nanoparticles on zebrafish development using multiple endpoints will be discussed.  On December 22, 2008 the largest fly ash spill ever recorded occurred at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil Plant in Kingston Tennessee.  In this seminar multiple ecotoxicological studies related to this spill will be examined, including the bioaccumulation of metals in multiple fish and mussel species.   

 

Sept. 25 – Sarah Bergemann, MTSU (Tenure and Promotion Seminar)

Oct. 2 – Bruce Cahoon, MTSU (Promotion Seminar)

Oct. 9 – Mary Farone, MTSU

Nov. 6 – Maria Aguinaga, Meharry Medical College

Nov. 9 – Jeremy Dahmen, Univ. of Missouri

Nov. 13 – Jason Jessen, Vanderbilt

Nov. 20 – David Haskell, Univ. of the South

Nov. 27 – Joseph Ng, Univ. of Alabama-Huntsville

Dec. 4 – Josh Benembek, Univ. of Tennessee