CSB/SJU Biology Department Newsletter

CSB/SJU Biology Department Newsletter
Volume 4 Number 3
October 4, 2000

Note from the Editor:
Last week was great for two major reasons. First, I very much enjoyed Dr. Robert Bakker’s visit to campus. I had the opportunity to attend two of his presentations and was quite impressed. Not only is he is a terrific speaker – engaging, insightful, colorful, captivating, and entertaining – but he has the gift of making science accessible to anyone, and especially kids. One unique feature of his presentations is that he gave away signed drawings of various dinosaurs to a child who could identify the species he had drawn or answer some other fundamental question about it. It was fun to see the kids squirming in their seats hoping to be called upon for a chance to win one of his hand-drawn posters. My daughter, Amy, was lucky enough to win a Bakker poster when she identified one of his sketches as an Albertosaurus. Assuming that her new treasure would become part of her massive collection of "stuff", I was surprised and extremely proud when she gave it away to a boy who seemed very disappointed to not have won his own poster.

The other reason last week was so special is because I saw my first wild otters. On Thursday morning I was pleasantly stunned to see a pair of otters cavorting along the road by shore of the West Gemini Lake. They seemed oblivious to the passing traffic and eventually got bored watched me and jumped into the lake. I subsequently learned that I was not the first to see them on campus. John Geissler, the Education Director of the St. John’s Arboretum, told me that three otters had been seen on campus for about three weeks. I was further surprised to learn that this isn’t the first time they’ve been seen on campus – they apparently were last seen about three years ago. I guess this incident proves what I’ve always suspected; I’m always the last to know anything that goes on around here.

Have a good week, don’t forget the Biology Club Homecoming Brat Sale, and I’ll see ya at the Disc Golf Tournament!

Student News:

Matthew Lewis (’94) writes that he is working as a Research Technician for a private cancer research group called the Hughes Institute/Hughes Clinic. The focus of this group is to primarily study and treat juvenile forms of leukemia with novel drug therapies. He is also considering medical school.

Jen Culhane Vance (’94) is 7th and 8th grade science at Blake Mddle School and living in Minneapolis.

Chris Vance is teaching biology at Totino-Grace High School.

Josh Barnd (‘99) is teaching seventh grade at Jordan (MN) High School. Last summer he was a coach for a ThinkQuest team and they constructed a web site all about dinosaurs that is a finalist in a national competition. You can check it out at http://library.thinkquest.org/C005824/

Faculty News:

Dr.’s. Larry Davis and Gordon Brown helped to organize a visit to campus by dinosaur expert Dr. Robert Bakker. Many thanks to Larry and Gordy for the excellent arrangements and programs that they put together!

Curriculum News: none submitted

Calendar of Events:

Oct 4 "Biomedical Applications of GC/MS" – by Jack Throck Watson (Michigan State Univ; Biochemistry); 4:30 p.m.; ASC 142

Oct 5 Tri-College Graduate School Fair; 10:30 – 2:30; Atwood Center, SCSU

Oct 6 Herbarium Disc Golf Tournament – Millstream Park, 3:00 p.m.

Oct 7 Biology Club Brat Sale (8:45 – 12:00), St. John’s (contact Kristi Kubista)

Oct 26-29 Creativity and Sustainable Environments Conference – CSB/SJU

Nov 3 GRE Registration deadline (contact CSB/SJU Career Resource center

Nov 15 Career Exploration Series – Thinking About Graduate School; 7:00, TRC

Mar 23 GRE Registration deadline (contact CSB/SJU Career Resource center

April 22 MCAT Registration deadline

Aug 18 MCAT Registration deadline

Biology Club News:

The Annual Biology Club Brat SALE! – by Kristi Kubista, Co-President
As you all know the annual brat sale during the Taste of the Saints will be October 7, 2000. We are looking for people to staff the booth. The event runs from 10 until 12 at St. John’s and we need people to set up, sell brats and tear down the booth. Set up will take place around 8:30, and tear down will occur right after 12 so we all can get to the game on time.

This is our biggest and only fundraiser of the year! If you are willing to help please email me and indicate which time periods you would like 8:45 (set-up), 9:15, 9:45, 10:15, 10:45, 11:15, 11:45, 12:15 (cleanup). List the 2 or 3 times you most prefer. Half hour and hour increments are available, and I will try to maneuver around people’s schedules. If anyone from St. Ben’s can help set up in the morning but does not have a ride, I do have a few spaces available in my car.

It’s a lot of fun, and I hope we can have a lot of participation. And, for those interested, T-shirts will be sold at the booth and can be charged! Please contact me at kskubista@csbsju.edu.

Internships/Scholarships/Jobs:

Mississippi Topsoil Internship Opportunity - Contact Mr. Brad Matuska, at (320)685-7676, Fax: (320)685-7887, www.composter.com/topsoils.

Tri-College Graduate School Fair
Thursday October 5, 10:30 – 2:00 p.m.; Atwood Center, SCSU

Career Exploration Series – Careers in Health & Medicine
Nov 15, TRC, CSB, 7:00 p.m. Contact the Career Resource Center at either CSB or SJU for more info or visit their web site at www.csbsju.edu/career.

Grants-In-Aid Of Research:
Fall deadline is October 16. Small grants for undergraduate and graduate student research, funds awarded in early December. Send applications electronically. Additional funds are designated for larger grants in blood plasma research, astronomy and ophthalmology. http://www.sigmaxi.org/giar/guidelines.htm. Or contact Dr. Webster, Biology Department, for more details.

Seminars/Lectures/Symposia:

Minnesota Native Plant Society Monthly Meeting & Seminar
Thursday, October 5th, 2000; Minnesota River Valley National Wildlife Refuge. 6:30pm Refreshments and Socializing; 7:00pm Program. Speaker: Cindy Hale, U of MN / NRRI Duluth. The title of her presentation is "Impacts of invading European earthworms on understory plant communities in hardwood forests of Minnesota." Minnesota Native Plant Society Meetings are free and open to the public. Membership is $12/yr ($8 for students and seniors, $15 for families), payable to "MN Native Plant Society", 220 Biological Science Center, 1445 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108. For a map to the meeting location and a list of upcoming seminars, visit their web page http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/biology/mnps/

Creativity and Sustainable Environments Conference

This conference will be held on campus October 26^th – 29^th. Among the featured speakers/activities are:

Wes Jackson (http://www.landinstitute.com). President of The Land Institute. Salina, Kansas

Ray Anderson (http://www.interfaceinc.com). Chairman and CEO of Interface, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia. Author of autobiography, Mid-Course Correction: Toward a Sustainable Enterprise: The Interface Model. "Anderson's company has revolutionized the carpet and floor covering industry, and Interface, Inc. is committed to leading a worldwide war on waste and to pioneering the processes of sustainable development."

Brad Matuska (Mississippi Topsoil) & Jim McNelly (Natur-Tech). Presentation on innovations in composting in Central Minnesota.

Fuel Cell Demonstration. An Alternative Energy Source presented by Bob Goff (SJU '62) and others.

Energy efficient car. Demonstration of a gas/electric hybrid automobile, the Toyota Prius.

SJU/Abbey Arboretum and CSB/Monastery Common Ground Garden. Tours and displays.

Tribute to Fr. Paul Schwietz. S. Phyllis Plantenberg and Fr. John Klassen present a tribute to the late Fr. Paul, land manager for St. John's Abbey and University.

Richard Bresnahan. Speaks on the use of indigenous materials and leads a tour of the studio.

Ernie Diedrich (SJU) and Art Mehrhoff (SCSU). "Assessing Sustainability in Community". Talk about community indicators and then presenting an alternative scheme for evaluating the state of progress in the St. Cloud Area.

Fr. John Klassen & S. Phyllis Plantenberg. "Stewardship of the Land"

Larry Schug. Poet who will give a reading and speak of his work with recycling.

Derek Larson, Joe Desjardins, Chuck Wright, Bernie Evans. Environmental Ethics Panel

Environmental Studies Faculty and Students. Concurrent session focusing on the Environmental Studies new learning communities.

Presentations by S. Mara Faulkner's students. Students from S. Mara's English: Modern and Contemporary Literature course will present on their creative work focusing on the environment.

Minnesota Center Chorale. Performance October 29, 2000, 3:00 p.m. BAC. Phil Welter, Director. The MCC will perform with composer Malcolm Dalglish.

Malcolm Dalglish. "Hymnody of Earth" A Ceremony of Songs for Choir, Hammer Dulcimer and Percussion, Featuring the poetry of Wendell Berry.

"Hymns in the broadest sense are songs sung by a congregation of people with words that enliven our common concerns about salvation, the soul, the spirit, the unknown, and survival itself. Wendell Berry's poems seem to take flight naturally in hymn song. Berry is a Kentucky author who has become widely renowned and respected for his essays and novels in which he addresses the importance of community, conservation and common sense. His poetry speaks with a solid and graceful spirituality. Through his words we gain an appreciation for the delicate balance among the many cycles of life."

For more information, write to creativity@csbsju.edu <mailto:creativity@csbsju.edu> or call (320) 363-2893. Charles Thornbury, Ph.D., Conference Director

"Banking on Women"
This is a half-day conference on the globalization of poverty among women. It will be held on October 11, 2000 from 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at CSB. For more information, including a listing of speakers and presentation titles, contact 763 – 541 – 9363.

Miscellaneous:

Truth about Transgenics submitted by Dr. M. Reagan.
Are you interested in the controversy over genetically modified organisms? This web site is reported to be a relatively unbiased look at transgenic crops, including how they are made, which agencies regulate them, and a discussion of risks. It also provides links to seed companies and antibiotech groups. http://www.colostate.edu/programs/lifesciences/TransgenicCrops/

Second Annual Bailey Herbarium Disc Golf Tournament
The CSB/SJU Bailey Herbarium is sponsoring a Disc Golf Tournament on Friday, October 6, 3:00 p.m. at Millstream Park. Pre-register by emailing herbarium@csbsju.edu or contacting Steven McGreevy or Sarah Young. The cost is $2.00 (if you pre-register), $5.00 for on-site registration.

Web Sites Worth A Visit: (have you visited any cool sites lately? Send us your suggestions)

CSB/SJU Pre-professional Health Programs: http://www.csbsju.edu/premed/

Biology Department Newsletter – On Line: http://www.employees.csbsju.edu/ssaupe/Newsletters/newsletter.htm.

DNR Volunteer Opportunities – www.dnr.state.mn.us

MN Nature Conservancy (for field trips, volunteer opportunities, etc.) – www.tnc.org/minnesota.

CSB/SJU Career Services Home Page – www.csbsju.edu/career

National Academy of Science – www.national-academies.org

Joke of the Week: (thanks to David Boyer for sharing these)

Here’s a little wisdom from George Carlin:

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

Could it be that all those trick-or-treaters wearing sheets aren't going as ghosts but as mattresses?

If a mute swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap?

Is there another word for synonym?

Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice?"

Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all"?

What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant?

Why do they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?

If a turtle doesn't have a shell, is he homeless or naked?

If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?

Why do they put Braille on the drive-through bank machines?

How do they get the deer to cross at that yellow road sign?

Is it true that cannibals don't eat clowns because they taste funny?

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

One nice thing about egotists: they don't talk about other people.

To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated, but not be able to say it.

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.

Women like silent men, they think they're listening.

Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too?

If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?

If you ate pasta and antipasta, would you still be hungry?

If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them?

Frequently Asked Questions: none submitted

For more information, contact:

Faculty Editor:
Dr. Stephen G. Saupe
Chair & Professor
Biology Department
College of St. Benedict/St. John's University
Collegeville, MN 56321
(320) 363-2782; (320) 363-3202 (fax); ssaupe@csbsju.edu

Student Editor:
Ms. A. Wawra
Biology Major
College of St. Benedict
St. Joseph, MN 56374

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