Newsworthy activities

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September 28, 2008 Professor Larry Rome was featured in a recent New York Times "Science Times" article [1] about superfast muscles. This research began by focusing on the movement of muscle fibers found in the swim bladder of male toadfish which are used to generate the high-pitched mating song that attracts females. A new study of superfast muscles reported in the journal PLoS One [2] shows that superfast muscle fibers are not limited to toadfish and have been found also in songbirds allowing them to maneuver through shifts in sonic phrasing. [1] http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0002581 [2] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/08/science/08angi.html?scp=1&sq=lawrence%20rome&st=cse January 15, 2008 Penn Biology professor Larry Rome, utilizing the concept of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, has designed a backpack that harnesses the motion of an individual walking at a normal gate (2.5 mph) with its inherent bounce to produce electrical energy (7.4 watts) within the designed backpack. This design has ranked him as Technology Leaders :The SciAm 50. Professor Rome's work is featured in the January 2008 issue of Scientific American. October 24, 2007 Penn Biology faculty in ecology and evolution together with collaborators at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, the National University of Mongolia and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences have been awarded a 2.5 million dollar, 5-year grant from the NSF Program in International Research and Education to study the combined ecological consequences of global climate change and grazing pressures by nomadic pastoralism in northern Mongolia.(more) July 3, 2007 The Department of Biology is most pleased to announce that Dr. Dan Janzen, Thomas G. and Louise E. DiMaura Professor of Conservation Biology, was elected to the American Philosophical Society. Dr. Janzen research focuses on numerous aspects of biodiversity and preserving Costa Rica's Rincon tropical rainforest where he conducts his research. For more about Dr. Janzen's research and conservation efforts, see http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu February 2, 2007 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship in Stem Cell Biolog and Regenerative Medicine The Department of Biology, in collaboration with the Institute for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, will initiate the 2007 Summer Research Fellowship in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine. This program will provide a $5,000 stipend for qualified Penn undergraduates to conduct research in stem cell biology research for 12 weeks with Penn faculty. More Information October 15, 2006 Penn Humanities Forum and the Department of Biology Present: “The Impact of Human Travel on Agriculture” a lecture by Dr. Paul Gepts Professor of Agronomy and Range Science UC, Davis Wed., October 11, 5:00 – 6:30 pm Leidy Lab room 10. The transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture was a milestone in human evolution. Over the millennia since, migration exploration, conquest, and developments in transportation have changed agriculture into a global production system. Distinguished biologist Paul Gepts will describe the worldwide spread of agriculture through human travel and its profound impact on the ecosystems of our planet. October 30, 2006 John Cebra Memorial Lecture “Evolution of Adaptive Immunity” Dr. Max Cooper, HHMI Investigator and Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, Pathology, and Microbiology University of Alabama at Birmingham. Join us on Monday, October 30 to celebrate and remember Dr. John Cebra, Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences and Biology. A tree will be planted in the Biopond garden in Dr. Cebra’s memory followed by Dr. Cooper’s lecture at 4:00 pm in Leidy 10. Before his death in 2005, Dr. Cebra was awarded the Excellence in Mentoring Award from the American Association of Immunologists. It is fitting that Dr. Cooper, former president of the AAI and of the Clinical Immunology Society, will be presenting this lecture. July 13, 2006 The Department of Biology is delighted to announce that Dr. Nancy Bonini, Professor of Biology, has been appointed the Lucille B. Williams Term Professor of Biology. Professor Bonini pioneered the use of Drosophila as a model system to study neurodegenerative diseases and has made seminal contributions to our understanding how expansion of polyglutamine tracts in specific proteins can lead to death of neurons. This Chair was established by Paul C. Williams in honor of his stepmother. Mr. Williams is a member of the University Board of Trustees and the SAS Board of Overseers. He has a distinguished record of service to the School of Arts and Sciences, and is a longtime supporter of the Department of Biology. April 4, 2006 The Department of Biology is delighted to announce that Dr. Ted Abel, Associate Professor of Biology, is this year's recipient of the prestigious Dean's Award for Mentorship of Undergraduate Research. Professor Abel's research focuses on molecular basis of synaptic plasticity, learning and memory, and sleep/wake regulation. Most recently, he was appointed as the Director of the highly popular Biological Basis of Behavior program. (read more) December 16, 2005 The Department of Biology is delighted to announce that Dr. Daniel H. Janzen, Professor of Biology and Thomas G. and Louise E. DiMaura Term Professor, has been designated as the DiMaura Professor, effective July1, 2005. Professor Janzen, an internationally eminent ecologist and conservation biologist, is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the recipient of prestigious awards and honors that include the Albert Einstein World Award for Science (World Cultural Council), the Kyoto Prize (The Inamori Foundation, Kyoto, Japan), the Crafoord Prize in Biology (Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences), and a MacArthur Fellowship.   (read more)   September 09, 2005 Penn biology professor Larry Rome, utilizing the concept of converting mechanical energy into electrical energy, has designed a backpack that harnesses the motion of an individual walking at a normal gate (2.5 mi./hr.) with its inherent bounce to produce electrical energy (7.4 watts) within the designed backpack.   The backpack can "... power a cell phone, GPS tracking device, or an MP3 player." as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Faye Flam.   Dr. Larry Rome Featured on CNN Pioneers (1/22/2006)  • small Real movie (2.1 MB; free Real Player req'd)  • large, higher quality Real movie (10.5 MB; free Real Player req'd)  • large, higher quality Windows Media movie (13 MB; free Window Media Player req'd) The original article found in the journal Science describing the mechanism appeared in the September 9, 2005 issue. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/309/5741/1686 April 07, 2005 Congratulations to Dr. Paul Sniegowski , Associate Professor of Biology, the winner of the 2005 Ira Abrams Memorial Award for Distinguished Teaching for Faculty in the School of Arts and Sciences The Abrams Award is the highest teaching honor in the School of Arts and Sciences.  Created in 1983, the award recognizes teaching that is "intellectually challenging and exceptionally coherent and honors faculty who embody high standards of integrity and fairness, have a strong commitment to learning, and are open to new ideas." [read more] January 20, 2005 Dr. John J. Cebra, professor of biology and the Annenberg Professor of the Natural Sciences,   has been selected as the recipient of the 2005 American Association of Immunologists Excellence in Mentoring Award.   He will be presented with this award at the AAI annual meeting that will be held on April 2-6, 2005, in San Diego, CA. The AAI Excellence in Mentoring Award recognizes the invaluable contributions Dr. Cebra has made to the field as a teacher and mentor, and the profound impact he has had on many lives. [read more] February 05, 2004 Dr. Daniel H. Janzen, Thomas E. and Louise G. DiMaura Endowed Term Chair in Professor in Conservation Biology, has received the John Scott Award from the City Trusts of Philadelphia. Dr. Janzen won the award for his contributions to conservation biology based on the quantitative formulation of the consequences of seed predation to animals and plants resulting in better interface between society and tropical wildland biodiversity. [read more] October 08, 2003 Dr. Warren Ewens has been appointed to the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professorship in the School of Arts and Sciences. The Browne chairs are considered to be among the highest honors bestowed on SAS faculty and are given in recognition of outstanding scholarly contributions, great distinction in teaching, intellectual integrity and unquestioned commitment to free and open discussion of ideas. [read more] September 23, 2003 Lynch Life Science Building Construction Site July 02, 2003 Dr. Wei Guo was selected to be a 2003 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. Only 20 recipients were chosen from among the most promising biomedical researchers in the nation for 2003, from a pool of nominations from 120 institutions. The Biology Deparment is very proud to have him on our faculty. [read more] May 13, 2003 Scott Poethig has been named the inaugural holder of the Paul Williams family Term Chair in Biology.SAS Dean Samuel H. Preston has announced. This Williams Chair was created in 2002 by Trustee and SAS Overseer Paul C. Williams, W'67. Mr. Williams, the vice president and manager of Nuveen Investments, has been a generous supporter of many University priorities, including several term chairs and scholarships in SAS, the biology department, and the Quad renewal project.[read more] May 12, 2003 Dr. Anthony R. Cashmore, professor of biology and director of Plant Science Institute, has been named a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He was one 72 new members elected time this year. [read more] February 20, 2003 Dr.Warren Ewens has been awarded Oxford University's prestigious Weldon Memorial Prize for 2002. This prize was founded in 1907 to perpetuate the memory of Professor W.R.F. Weldon and to encourage Biometric Science. Given to some of this century's most distinguished mathematical biologists, winners include such luminaries as Sir Ronald Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane, Sewal Wright, Motoo Kimura and Sir Robert May. [read more] November 18,2002 R. Scott Poethig, professor of biology in the School of Arts and Sciences, has been elected as a fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Election to AAAS fellowship recognizes efforts to advance science or foster applications that are scientifically or socially distinguished. [read more] November 05, 2002 David Roos will receive a Senior Scholars Award from The Ellison Medical Foundation. Established and supported by Lawrence J. Ellison, the foundation particularly wishes to stimulate new creative research that might not be funded by traditional sources or that is often under-funded in the U.S. [read more] October 11, 2002 Dr. Daniel Janzen Dr. Daniel H. Janzen, the Thomas G. and Louise E. DiMaura Endowed Term Chair in Conservation Biology, has been awarded the Albert Einstein World Award for Science by the World Cultural Council. It will be conferred at a ceremony hosted by the University of Dublin at Trinity College in Ireland on November 14. [read more] July 24, 2002 Award announcements [read more] April 9, 2002 Dr. Warren Ewens has been named a recipient of one of the 2002 Lindback Awards for Distinguished Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. Established in 1961 to recognize standing faculty for their excellence in teaching, winners are chosen based on nominations and recommendations by faculty and students. [read more] December 12, 2001 Biologist Richard Schultz has been appointed to the Patricia Williams Term Chair in Biology, SAS Dean Samuel H. Preston announced. [read more] October 15, 2001 Evolution has so precisely honed certain specialized muscles involved in fish mating calls that the muscles are now physically incapable of much else, including any significant locomotion, Dr. Lawrence C. Rome has found. Pictures and video transcript of work are available. [read more] August 27, 2001 Biologist Scott Poethig identifies genes in Arabidopsis that are key to differentiating top from bottom in plant leaves. March 6, 2001 Check up on the latest renovation work being done in the BioPond, thanks to the generosity of Richard and Jeanne Kaskey. November 6, 2000 BIOL 124 Introductory Organism Biology Lab will be offered this Spring 2001 [read more] October 24, 2000 Sidney Strickland, Ph.D. will give a presentation on graduate research opportunities at The Rockefeller University. [read more] July 5, 2000 For excellence in population genetics, Dr. Warren John Ewens, Professor of Biology, was elected to Fellowship in the prestigious Royal Society, a scientific foundation based in the United Kingdom, in May, 2000. [read more] September 23, 2000 Biology site redesign project in place