Dr. Irina Feniova from the Russian Academy of Sciences has received a prestigious Fulbright Award to conduct research in the Department of Zoology at OSU. Dr. Feniova will be collaborating with Dr. Andy Dzialowski to explore how climate change impacts zooplankton communities and their susceptibility to biological invasions. The collaboration between Drs. Feniova and Dzialowski is a continuation of previous research efforts in Polish lakes that were funded by the Polish Academy of Sciences. Dr. Feniova will be at OSU for six months.

OSU graduate student Jay Burtka was accepted into the US Fish and Wildlife Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) in May as a student biologist intern. She worked at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in Sasabe, AZ, and is currently stationed at the Texas Mid-Coast Refuge Complex in Brazoria, Texas. This position provides training towards a career with USFWS as a refuge biologist. Jay has been able to assist conservation efforts for endangered species, such as the Masked Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwai), the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), and the Pima Pineapple cactus (Coryphantha scheeri var. robustispina).

Marissa Rice, a first year graduate student in the Department of Zoology, has just been awarded the Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Fellowship from the Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (OK-LSAMP), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The BD Fellowship is a highly competitive program designed to encourage and support minority OSU graduate students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. BD Fellows are committed, mindful learners who are actively engaged in the process to become leaders within the scientific community at the national and global level. As a BD Fellow, Marissa will receive an annual stipend (up to $30,000) as well as funding for cost of education and an abundance of opportunities for personal and professional growth and networking. This fellowship will support Marissa’s research on the neuroendocrine influence on social and spatial memory, reproductive tactics, and behavioral plasticity in Alex Ophir’s lab.

Graduate student April Bagwill received the prestigious National Sea Grant College Program Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, which matches highly qualified graduate students interested in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources with "hosts" in the legislative and executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for a one year paid fellowship. April will be working in the Office of Aquaculture (NOAA Fisheries Service) as a communications and policy fellow. Further information about this fellowship can be found at:
http://www.seagrant.noaa.gov/knauss/index.html

We are pleased to announce that we will be holding our summer research experience for undergraduates again in summer 2012.  The goal of this program is to provide 12 undergraduate students with an in-depth, hands-on research experience focused on the biological basis of animal and human behavior. Students will be trained in the application of the scientific method to develop hypotheses, design and conduct research studies involving either animal or human subjects. Students will also be trained in the responsible conduct of research. Students will be mentored by full-time, Ph.D.-level faculty members who are tenured/tenure-track faculty with strong programs of research. Students selected for the program will be expected to devote at least 40 hours a week for research; thus, it is not possible to be enrolled in courses or other activities during the program.

Program dates: June 2, 2012-July 29, 2012
Application deadline: February 1, 2012

To be eligible, students must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who is currently enrolled in an undergraduate program. Students must not receive their bachelor’s degree before December 2012. Each student will reside in a campus dormitory (at no cost to the student) and receive $500 per week to cover food and other living expenses. Students will receive a $500 travel stipend to pay for their travel to and from campus and a $500 additional stipend, if students present research at an academic conference.

Information about how to submit an application is available at http://psychology.okstate.edu/faculty/kennison/osunsfreu.htm.

We especially welcome applications from students from underrepresented groups, including first generation college students and students from rural areas.

The College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma State University recognized outstanding faculty and staff members at its fall convocation on Oct. 18 at the Wes Watkins Center.

Two professors received the Junior Faculty Award for Scholarly Excellence. Earning honors in natural sciences was Kristen Baum, assistant zoology professor. Zoology's Acdemic Advisor, Karen Smith, was awared one of three staff awards.

The convocation is among the many ways that the OSU College of Arts and Sciences rewards excellence. Each year the awards are coordinated by the chair of the OSU Arts and Sciences Faculty Council. To learn more visit cas.okstate.edu.

Regents Professor Peter M.A. Sherwood, college dean, presenting the awards to Dr. Kristen Baum (left) and Karen Smith.