Dr. Lou Gross named Fellow of the Ecological Society of America
The Ecological Society of America is pleased to announce its 2023 Fellows. The Society’s fellowship program recognizes the many ways in which its members contribute to ecological research, communication, education, management and policy. This year, the ESA Governing Board has confirmed seven new Fellows and ten new Early Career Fellows.
Fellows are members who have made outstanding contributions to a wide range of fields served by ESA, including, but not restricted to, those that advance or apply ecological knowledge in academics, government, non-profit organizations, and the broader society. They are elected for life.
Read more here: https://www.esa.org/blog/2023/04/05/ecological-society-of-america-announces-2023-fellows/
For centuries, scientists have explored and documented the natural world, collecting the billions of specimens housed in museums, universities, and field stations worldwide. And now, the University of Tennessee and other institutions across the globe want to help make that information available to the general public. 
“Natural history collections are a physical record of our planet’s biodiversity across space and time,” said Budke, who is also an assistant professor in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. “These specimens not only serve as records of the past, but they are a critical resource for our future. They help us to answer important questions surrounding invasive species, conservation biology, and help us to describe species that are new to science.”
The WeDigBio Event emerged within the museum community to accelerate the rate of digital data creation about the historical what, when, and where of the perhaps 9 million species on Earth. It has a core leadership team that includes researchers from the Smithsonian Institution, the Australian Museum, Florida State University, University of Florida, and the major online transcription platforms, including the U.S.-based Smithsonian Transcription Center, Notes from Nature, and Symbiota, the Australia-based DigiVol, the UK-based Herbaria@Home, and the France-based Les Herbonautes.
This one-of-a-kind event will be held from October 14-17 at locations across the globe. Members of the public can contribute at any time from anywhere during the event at one of the participating online transcription platforms.
Being a 25+ year employee at UT has allowed me to experience several academic units. In all of the departments, it has been a pleasure to work with students and faculty from different regions of the world. The EEB department, however, has been a constant advocate for adding and bringing more diversity to the department, which has resulted in recruitment of some very intelligent (and active) faculty and students. Overall, a great department to be a part of!”
“Having worked in higher education for most of my career, I knew that UT has a wonderful reputation for research and education and employees rank the university as one of the best places to work in the state. It is the place I wanted to ‘hang my hat.’ 
“I had worked at the university for 22 years, but never in an academic department before given the opportunity to work in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary. I knew this would push me mentally and to continue to learn the other side of how the university functions.
“Getting a job at the university was something I very much wanted to do. I was fortunate enough that my wealth of experience allowed me the opportunity to obtain a job at UT in the EEB department. I think it is wonderful seeing such a diverse group of people working in our office and in our department. I have been made to feel very welcome here at UT, which is one of the many reasons I chose to work for UT and EEB specifically.
It’s got the largest cluster of flowers—sometimes more than eight feet tall—of any plant in the world. It doesn’t flower often—maybe once every seven to 10 years. And when it does decide to flower, it emits a foul smell like the rotting body of an animal.