The Center for Vector Biology (CVB), part of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, launched New Jersey Ticks 4 Science!, a citizen-led science project supported by the state that asks New Jerseyans to submit tick specimens they find to help track tick populations and help prevent tick-borne illness. “The purpose of the effort is to better understand who …
Addressing Food Insecurity in New Jersey
By Carol Peters Rutgers University Faculty members and students have contributed to two recent reports that provide recommendations to help to help state and local governments, schools, childcare providers, community-based and faith-based organizations, emergency food providers, and others, to help mitigate hunger across the state. More must be done to alleviate food insecurity in New Jersey, argues a new report, Hunger …
The Dynamic Evolution of a Photosynthetic Organelle
Research provides key clues to primary endosymbiosis and the evolution of photosynthesis that may prove useful in crop improvement. Tiny bacteria and massive trees are both integral to sustaining our planet. A few billion years were required for the evolution of biological complexity and therefore it is a challenge to elucidate critical, early events that triggered this diversification. A paper, “Retrotransposition …
SEBS Faculty Pamela McElwee and Malin Pinsky to Begin Earth Leadership Program Training
Pamela McElwee, professor, Department of Human Ecology, and Malin Pinsky, associate professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, who were named Fellows of the Earth Leadership Program (ELP), will join their colleagues in the North American Cohort in an ELP training session in Racine, Wisconsin, from June 12-18. Elected in 2021, McElwee and Pinsky are among 22 academics working within a wide …
RU COOL Awarded $2.5 Million Funding for New Jersey Offshore Wind Studies
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) recently announced the award of funding for studies to provide enhanced scientific information on the impacts of offshore wind energy development off New Jersey’s coastline as well as the state’s entry into a regional offshore-wind science collaborative. The development of New Jersey’s offshore wind resources is …
SEBS Faculty Win Rutgers Global Grants
SEBS faculty, representing a broad range of majors and programs at the school, were awarded 2022 Rutgers Global Grants, annual seed grants open to all Rutgers faculty, including tenured, tenure-track, clinical, and non-tenure track faculty. These grants help to support a strong core of SEBS faculty who are dedicated to international research and collaborations. This international component to SEBS research and …
Xenia Morin Selected as “Dr. Barbara Munson Goff Teacher of the Year” by Alpha Zeta
Xenia Morin, associate teaching professor in the Department of Plant Biology and undergraduate program director of Agriculture and Food Systems, was named the 2022 Teacher of the Year by the Rutgers Chapter of the Fraternity of Alpha Zeta, the national honor and service fraternity for agriculture and environmental studies. Her teaching style embraces active learning strategies that engage students and …
Rutgers Oyster History Preserved!
After longtime Rutgers Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory (HSRL) associate Walt Canzonier passed away in June 2021, a box containing historic data was returned to the lab. Canzonier had designed and overseen much of the construction of the current lab in Bivalve, NJ, according to professor David Bushek, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and director of HSRL. The box contained old weather and tide information …
Recommendation Algorithms that Power Amazon, Netflix Can Improve Satellite Imagery, Too
Rutgers engineer discovers a faster, cheaper way to recover cloud-covered earth surface. Algorithms that help consumers decide what to stream or buy online can do more than predict customers’ habits: They can help satellites see the Earth better, according to a Rutgers study. Optical satellites lose sight of the Earth’s surface when it is covered by clouds, and researchers have long …
Rutgers Researcher Uses Genomics and Gene Editing to Help Save Coral Reefs
Debashish Bhattacharya, a professor at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, aims to identify the genes believed to be involved in coral bleaching. A Rutgers researcher who has been recognized for trying to save dying coral reefs will examine their genetic makeup to try to pinpoint the genes involved in coral bleaching caused by climate change, which could have …