Regents Professor of Ecology David Tilman received the 2008 International Prize for Biology at a ceremony in Tokyo in December. Emperor Akihito of Japan presented Tilman with a medal and a cash prize. The award, which is one of the most prestigious honors a scientist can receive, is given to one individual in a different field of biology each year.
Tilman was selected based on his seminal findings, published in Science and Nature during the 1990s, which prove that biodiversity makes ecosystems more productive and resistant to drought, disease and pests. More recently, Tilman has applied his discoveries to renewable energy, showing that biofuel created from diverse prairie grasses is more efficient and far better for the environment than fuel made from food crops such as corn and soybeans.
The award was last given for ecology in 1993 to renowned Harvard evolutionary biologist Edward O. Wilson.
“This is one of the most prestigious scientific prizes in the world,” says College of Biological Sciences Dean Bob Elde. “And no one deserves it more that Dave Tilman. His stature as a scientist honors the University, the College, his colleagues and our students. We are very fortunate that he has chosen Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve as his laboratory.”
Students from the College of Biological Sciences and the Institute of Technology teamed up with faculty advisers from both colleges to develop projects for the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGem) competition held annually at MIT. It was the first time that students from the University of Minnesota have entered the popular competition.
The U of M team received second place for one of its “BioBrick” designs. BioBricks are standardized parts used to design and build genetic machines. iGem participants explore the potential for building simple biological systems from these standard, interchangeable parts.
Professor Michael O’Connor, Ordway Chair of Developmental Biology, took the helm as head of the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development in January.
O’Connor joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 1997. He has contributed to more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in the fields of developmental biology and molecular genetics. As a Howard Hughes Medical Institute senior investigator, O’Connor studies the molecular genetics of development, focusing on growth-factor signaling and gene regulation.
O’Connor succeeds Brian Van Ness, who was the head of the department for nine years. Van Ness has returned full time to teaching and research.
Jennifer Powers, an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, has been named a Minnesota McKnight Land-Grant Professor for 2009–11. The award includes a research grant of $32,500 in each of the two years plus a paid research leave. Powers’ research explores the relationships among ecological processes, the patterns they generate and the effects of anthropogenic environmental changes across a range of spatial and temporal scales.
Michael Sadowsky was recently named a 2009 fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The AAAS chose Sadowsky based on his contributions to the field of environmental microbiology, noting his work in molecular plant-microbe interactions, biodegradation of chlorinated herbicides and in determining sources of fecal bacteria. Sadowsky is a professor in the BioTechnology Institute.
Three College of Biological Sciences students received 2008 Scholarly Excellence in Equity and Diversity (SEED) Awards, which honor outstanding diverse undergraduate students. Desiree Abu-Odeh (Neuroscience), Daniel Martig (Biochemistry) and Anh Tran (Neuroscience) were among only eleven recipients from across the Twin Cities campus.
Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve naturalist John Haarstad died November 17. He was 62. Haarstad had been affiliated with the University since 1975. A nature trail at Cedar Creek was recently named the “Dr. John A. Haarstad Interpretive Trail” in his honor. The 2.5-mile trail around Fish Lake was one of his favorite hikes.
Longtime CBS faculty member Douglas Pratt died November 6. He was 77. Pratt, who spent 30 years as a member of the college’s plant biology faculty, pioneered groundbreaking research on the use of wetland vegetation as a renewable biomass crop. He was also an award-winning teacher who played a leading role in the development of the University’s environmental sciences curricula.
“What I think is so remarkable about Doug, looking back now, is that he understood this incredible relationship between biology, land use, food and energy—the intersection of those four things,” said Bob Elde, dean of the College of Biological Sciences. “He was a plant biologist with a great sense of the environment.”
Five College of Biological Sciences faculty members are among the first 20 Institute on the Environment (IonE) resident fellows. The new resident fellows, all associated with the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, include Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Clarence Lehman, Stephen Polasky, Jennifer Powers and David Tilman.
“The fellowships will give both up-and-coming and established leaders the opportunity to work together on finding ‘outside-the-box’ solutions to the world’s biggest environmental problems,” says Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment.
IonE is dedicated to discovering solutions to the Earth’s most pressing environmental problems through cutting-edge research, leadership development and collaboration. The fellows will begin their three-year appointments in June.
Pictured from left: Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Clarence Lehman, Stephen Polasky, Jennifer Powers and David Tilman
