A little goes a long way
Earlier this year, the college ventured into social networking. CBS launched a fan page on Facebook for Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories and in no time alumni, faculty and others with a connection were busy posting photos and memories.
Choosing Itasca for our first foray into social networking was a no-brainer. So many students and faculty, past and present, have stories to tell about this vital outpost of the biological sciences. For those of you who have spent time at Itasca, the value of the station is obvious.
In recent years, it’s been the first stop for new biology students at the U. Itasca creates a sense of community and serves as a living laboratory for students and researchers alike.
For several years now, CBS has been working hard to raise funds to update the facilities and pay for much-needed repairs. The vision is to create a world-class research facility at the headwaters of the Mississippi that attracts researchers from the U and beyond, and provides biology students with up-to-date labs in which to learn.
It will take millions of dollars to achieve the goals set out in the Itasca master plan. While it would be easy to give up on these big, far-sighted goals given the state of the economy, to do so would mean undercutting our ability to compete and provide a high-quality biology education in the long run. The good news is we’re close to achieving a small part of our goal.
To complete renovations on one of our cabins, we only need $150,000. The cabin will provide researchers with housing year round—something that wasn’t possible with the old structures. It may seem like a small thing, but finishing even one cabin brings us a step closer to our goal of positioning Itasca as a critical hub for biology research and education.
Please consider making a donation to the Itasca Centennial Fund (#5284). Go to www.giving.umn.edu and follow the “Give Online Today” link, or contact me directly at hennen@umn.edu.
—Laurie Hennen, Director of Development
Imee Cambronero (B.S., Biology ’03), now a graduate student in the School of Public Health, recently returned from India where she worked on a documentary about family planning. Cambronero also serves as a College of Biological Sciences “ambassador” for the University of Minnesota Foundation.
When did you first become interested in public health?
“I got interested in public health after the hockey riots at the U when binge drinking came into the spotlight. I began looking into alcohol consumption on campus. I saw how a public health issue tied into biology at a macro level.”
After graduating, you worked for Rep. Betty McCollum both in Washington, D.C. and in Minnesota. How did that experience feed your interest in public health?
“I wanted to understand the political side of public health policy. In D.C. there’s always a reception, always a briefing. You get thrown into the pot of all the issues important to the public. … I also worked on grassroots campaigns in Minnesota where I got to observe cycles of public health policy in the making and how big policy translates to the local level.”
You are making a documentary about family planning in India. Why there?
“India has one of the oldest family planning policies, but also one of the highest populations. I was interested in exploring that paradox.”
You spent time in health facilities trying to unravel that contradiction. Any surprising conclusions?
“I found that wives are responsible for family planning but they aren’t the decision-makers. The mother-in-law often dictates.”
After receiving his teaching certificate last spring, Matt Kuehl (B.S. Ecology, Evolution and Behavior ’06) accepted a position as an assistant language teacher at Sieryo Junior and Senior High School in Akita, Japan. He helps teach English classes, coach speech club and run the English Conversation Club.
“Teaching and living in Japan is a fun and challenging experience,” says Kuehl. “I have never met so many interesting people from around the world. … It also provides me with the opportunity to stay connected to my ecology roots by learning about such local fauna as the tanuki (raccoon dog), Japanese serow, and the hata-hata (a popular local fish).”
As Monsanto’s technology strategy lead for Latin America, Timothy Conner (Ph.D., Genetics ’87) and his family made a move to Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2007. Conner notes the hardships of adapting to a new language and culture as well as navigating a huge, dense city with extremes of wealth and poverty. “Yet challenging as city life is,” he says, “Brazil is one of the most beautiful, diverse and resourceful countries in the world.”
“Sugar cane, or ‘cana’, as it is referred to here, has experienced tremendous growth and investments in biofuels, primarily for the production of ethanol, continue to be driven by local and regional demand,” says Conner. “The central reason that I am here in Brazil is to better understand tropical agriculture … as the region prepares to double food production on the same acre footprint by 2050.”
After many years in private practice as an Auckland, New Zealand-based architect, Robert Cunningham (B.S. Biology ’77) recently took on the role of principle architect for Housing New Zealand, the national provider of social housing in the country.
“Although my work is about housing people, I find that the things I learned in my science studies, and especially the way I was taught to think, continue to serve me well,” says Cunningham. “I recently attended the International Sustainable Building Conference in Melbourne, Australia and found that my main interest was in the science of sustainability—the research and the results.”
Mike Nesheim (Ph.D., Biochemistry ’78) is a professor of biochemistry at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, where he has lived since 1984. Before moving to Canada, Nesheim spent 16 years working at Mayo Clinic.
Mary Jo Lockbaum (B.S. Biology ’90) owns and manages The Sustainability Group, a Denver-based consulting firm that helps organizations “go green” by reducing waste, conserving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Lockbaum misses Minnesota, but loves skiing and riding her horses in the mountains of Colorado.
After graduating last year, Kevin Schiller (B.S. Biochemistry ’08) moved to Philadelphia to take a position as a microbiologist with the Institute for Environmental Health Laboratories and Consulting Group. He is actively looking for a research position and plans to eventually apply to graduate school at the University of Minnesota.
Camille Bodley Troup (B.S. Biochemistry ’86) lives in Livermore, California with her husband and two young sons. She holds a visiting associate professorship in bioengineering at the University of the Pacific and serves as assay development director of the biotechnology company dVBio, Inc.
Rania Habib (B.S. Microbiology ’04) graduated from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry last spring and will start on a six-year residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the University of Maryland, Baltimore this summer.
Currently in her second year as a student in the University of Minnesota School of Veterinary Medicine, Rachel Jones (Weisert) (B.S. Ecology, Evolution and Behavior ’04) plans to practice companion animal medicine when she graduates in 2011. “I absolutely love it,” says Jones, “and cannot imagine doing anything else with my life!”
Keep us updated about what’s going on in your life. Send an email to Rebecca Brzezinski, alumni relations coordinator, at rlb@umn.edu.
