Dr. Frank Fish, Biology, received a grant in the amount of $1.3 million from the Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative for the Biologically-Inspired Autonomous Sea Vehicle program for “Towards a Mission Configurable Stealth Underwater Batoid.”  The study is a collaboration with Dr. Hilary Bart-Smith, University of Virginia; and Dr. Alexander Smits of Princeton University.  Professor Fish was highlighted in the April 2008 issue of National Geographic for his work on the application of the geometry of the humpback whale flipper for wind turbine design in the article “Biomimetrics: design by nature.”

The following Biology undergraduate students were recognized during the Spring 2008 semester: Amanda Rowlands received an Honorable Mention at the 2008 CAS Outstanding Student Awards; Radhika Bhatt, Sara Farjo, and Erica Szonntag received awards for their presentations at The WCU Research Consortium Research Day.  

Dr. Maureen Knabb and Dr. Erin Gestl were each awarded a 2008 CASSDA Grant.  Dr. Knabb's project is entitled “Does quadraplex (G4) DNA exist in normal and cancerous cells?”. Dr. Gestl's project is entitled “Interaction of Proteins (DNA Polymerase) during DNA Replication”.  

Dr. Greg Turner, Biology, published the article, “Oak seedling growth and ectomycorrhizal colonization in adjacent oak stand and declining eastern hemlock stands infested with the hemlock woolly adelgid,” with J. Lewis, J. LiCitra, A. Tuininga, and A. Sirulnik, in Tree Physiology, 28: 629-636, 2008. 

Lori Timm, Biology graduate student, was co-author on a presentation with Dr. Frank Fish entitled 'Hydrodynamic flow through the nasal cavity of sharks.'

Biology students Amanda Rowlands, Kimberly Urban, Apurva Bidja, Danielle Roy, Ryan Feeney and Lilly Afshari and Dr. Oné Pagan published the article "Reversal of cocaine-induced planarian behavior by parthenolide and related sesquiterpene lactones" in Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 89: 160-170 (2008). The article was also coauthored by Dr. Mahrukh Azam (chemistry). 

Dr. Russell Vreeland, Biology, co-authored the paper “Virgibacillus salaries sp. nov., a novel halophilic bacterium isolated from a Saharan salt lake” with N. Hua, H. Amel, H. Isoda, T. Naganuma, in international Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. He presented “Going where no MAN has gone before: microbial space craft abound” at the Delaware Astronomical Society on March 18.  The Kansas Underground Salt Museum is housing an exhibit showcasing the work of Dr. Russell Vreeland.  “Take it with a Grain of Salt—Life inside a Permian Period Fluid Inclusion” will open on May 31st and is the centerpiece for an entire weekend of activities. 

Thinking about Ecology as a major? Learn about the current requirements and opportunities for students in the Department of Biology's Ecology Concentration from the following brochure:

Ecology Brochure 

The shape of humpback whale flippers could make wind energy more efficient; this intriguing possibility was recently revealed in an interview given by Dr. Frank Fish to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

To listen to the interview Click on the Read More... link listed below.