Addressing Food Insecurity in New Jersey

wheat

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

The transition from a heterotrophic to a photosynthetic lifestyle by the amoeba Paulinella. This primary endosymbiosis led to the origin of a new organelle (the chromatophore) and gene movement from the endosymbiont to the amoeba nuclear genome. Image created by Victoria Calatrava.

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

Grace Saba prepares to deploy an autonomous underwater glider equipped with sensors to monitor for ocean acidification on the New Jersey coastal shelf. Photo credit: Eric Niiler, WIRED.

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 …

Xenia Morin Selected as “Dr. Barbara Munson Goff Teacher of the Year” by Alpha Zeta

Xenia Morin

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!

The houseboat Cynthia on Barnegat Bay, NJ circa 1915.

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

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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 …

Bidle and Gonzalez Receive 2021-2022 Faculty Year-End Excellence Awards

Kay Bidle (left) and Angelica Gonzalez (right)

By Carol Peters, EOAS Communications The two are among only 31 faculty members across Rutgers University chosen by their colleagues to receive the prestigious year-end awards. Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, has named EOAS faculty members Kay D. Bidle and Angélica L. González recipients of two of the university’s 10 2021-22 Faculty Year-End Excellence Awards. Bidle, Professor, Department …

How You Can Help Mobilize Rutgers for Climate Action

animated globe

Registration is open for the May 4 event Mobilizing the University for Climate Transformation As Rutgers advances a climate action plan, which includes a university commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, President Jonathan Holloway and the Office of Climate Action are inviting the university community to help develop and advance equitable climate solutions and to contribute to the decarbonization of Rutgers, New …