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EEB Departmental Awards 2017

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Congratulations to all the graduate students, undergraduate students, and staff who received awards at the EEB Awards Ceremony on May 1.   To view more photos, please visit the EEB Facebook page.  For more information about any of the awards below, please visit the Departmental Awards and Scholarships page.

2017 EEB Outstanding Master’s Thesis
Alix Pfennigwerth (Schweitzer Lab)

2017 EEB Jim Tanner Outstanding Dissertation
Michael Van Nuland (Schweitzer Lab)

2017 EEB Best Progress Toward Dissertation
Sam Borstein (O’Meara Lab)

2017 EEB Sandy Echternacht Outstanding Teaching by a Graduate Student
Tyson Paulson (Fordyce Lab)

2017 EEB Outstanding Publication by a Graduate Student
Rachel Wooliver (Schweitzer Lab)

2017 EEB Tom Hallam Appreciation Award
Angela Chuang (Riechert Lab)

2017 EEB Outstanding Outreach and Community Service by a Graduate Student
Alannie-Grace Grant (Kalisz Lab)

2017 Outstanding Undergraduate Poster Award
Sarah Ottinger (Classen Lab)

2017 EEB Outstanding Undergraduate
Patrick McKenzie (Armsworth Lab)

2017 EEB Outstanding Undergraduate Research
Hannah Anderson (Riechert Lab)

2017 EEB Undergraduate for Professional Promise
Katie Plant (Williams Lab)

2017 EEB Outstanding Outreach and Community Service by an Undergraduate Student
Heiler Meek (Schweitzer Lab)

2017 EEB Outstanding Administrative Service Award
Marva Anderson

Going Above and Beyond Award
Jess Welch (Simberloff & McCracken Labs)

Division of Biology Awards 2017

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EEB congratulates our graduate students who won awards from UT’s Division of Biology!   These awards can be given to any graduate students in Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB), Microbiology, or Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

2017 Cokkinias Award – Rachel Wooliver (Schweitzer Lab), for outstanding scholarly achievements.

2017 Teaching Award – Cassie Dresser (Fitzpatrick Lab), for outstanding teaching.

Congratulations!

Discover Magazine Interviews Burghardt, Pruitt- UPDATE

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The June 2017 issue of Discover Magazine has an article on play behavior in non-mammalian animals.  Called “The Play’s the Thing,” it features interviews with Professor Gordon Burghardt and alumnus Jonathan Pruit (PhD 2010, Riechert Lab, now on the faculty at UC-Santa Barbara). The article references a paper published in 2012 that was written by Burghardt, Pruitt, and Riechert.

The article is now available online. Tennessee Today also has a story about the article

Science Writing Award for Bush

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Graduate student Jordan Bush (Simberloff Lab) will receive the J. Paul Blakely Award of Excellence in the category of Science Writing, Graduate Division at an awards ceremony on May 4, 2017. This award from the East Tennessee Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC-ETC) recognizes students with an interest in technical/professional communication or science writing, from any accredited institution of higher education in East Tennessee.  Congratulations, Jordan!

Nature Ecology & Evolution paper for Van Nuland

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Finishing graduate student Michael Van Nuland (Schweitzer Lab) has a new paper out in Nature Ecology & Evolution with Joe Bailey and Jen Schweitzer:

Divergent plant–soil feedbacks could alter future elevation ranges and ecosystem dynamics

Congratulations!  A pdf of the article can be viewed here.  Or, read a press release at Tennessee Today.

EEB Awards & Graduation Ceremonies May 1, 2017

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EEB will host the annual EEB Awards Ceremony at 3pm on Monday, May 1, in SERF 307.  Food and drink will be provided.

EEB will host the first EEB Graduation Ceremony in the same location, immediately following the Awards Ceremony, at 4pm.  The ceremony will last approximately one hour, and Department Head Susan Kalisz will recognize each graduating student at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

EEB faculty and graduate students will attend so that parents of graduating students will have an opportunity to get to meet the instructors.

2017 Chancellor’s Honors Awards for EEB

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Two members of EEB received awards at the Chancellor’s Honors Award Banquet on April 19, 2017: PhD candidate Cassie Dresser (Fitzpatrick Lab) & Associate Professor Beth Schussler

2017 Graduate Student Teaching Award
Cassie Dresser

Unlike many PhD candidates who focus solely on research, Cassie Dresser has wanted to teach since arriving in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 2013. In fact, she’s been teaching throughout her academic career. As an undergraduate at Hartwick College in New York, she was a tutor. As a master’s student at Central Michigan University, she was a teaching assistant. Before starting her PhD, she worked as an environmental educator at a state park in Michigan. Here, she’s been a lecture assistant, a teaching assistant, and now head TA. She excelled when given the rare opportunity to be the sole instructor of a 200-level course, and she is one of the first graduate students to complete UT’s Certificate in College Teaching program. Dresser has not only sought to improve her own teaching but also enhanced the teaching of other TAs in her department by researching and sharing best practices and by developing research-based scientific literacy coursework.

2017 Excellence in Teaching
Elisabeth Schussler

Elizabeth Shussler, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, is described by her students as excited, enthusiastic, and committed to their success. “Beth must engage students at all levels, and she is wildly successful,” a colleague said. She finds ways to “really engage her students in learning how to do science, rather than just memorizing what science has already learned.” Schussler has been a pioneer in using active learning techniques—everything from clickers and Learning Catalytics to small-group discussions—to keep students engaged during large science lectures. She serves as director of teaching and learning for the Division of Biology and has been instrumental in improving biology courses at UT. She received the 2016 UT Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award and the 2012 College of Arts and Sciences Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award.

Graduate Student Senate Awards 2017

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Congratulations to the EEB grad students who won Graduate Student Senate awards this year. There are a few different categories:

Research: This award is presented to graduate students who have received national and/or international recognition in their fields and show professional promise in their areas of research and creative achievement.

  • Sam Borstein (O’Meara Lab)
  • Angela Chuang (Riechert Lab)
  • Aaron Floden (Schilling Lab)
  • Alanni-Grace Grant (Kalisz Lab)
  • Chloe Lash (Kwit Lab)
  • Brian Looney (Matheny Lab)
  • Margaret Mamantov (Sheldon Lab)
  • Austin Milt (PhD 2015, Armsworth Lab)
  • Morgan Roche (Kalisz Lab)
  • Michael Van Nuland (Schweitzer Lab)
  • Rachel Wooliver (Schweitzer Lab)

Service: This award is presented to graduate students who are extraordinary campus leaders or participate in service learning and other community initiatives.

  • Christine Dumoulin (Armsworth Lab)

Teaching: This award is given to graduate teaching assistants for extraordinary performance in teaching.

  • Amanda Benoit (Kalisz Lab)
  • Liam Mueller (Schweitzer Lab)
  • Tyson Paulson (Fordyce Lab)