Spring 2008
Friday, April 24th, 2008 The election is open! Head over to the elections ballot and cast your vote for next year’s officers at once.
Wednesday, April 8th, 2008 A year in photos The photos section has ten new albums from the past year of SURGe meetings. If you’ve been around, you just might find yourself amongst them.
Friday, April 11th, 2008, from 3 to 7 PM Workshop #4: the Output Workshop In place of our usual SURGe Meeting, we will have this workshop, Co-sponsored by SURGe and the Office of Undergraduate Research. SURGe and Special Projects staff will help students finalize posters and oral presentations and help print posters. Everyone is welcome! Food will be provided to those who register by noon on Thursday April 10th. Registration will come soon. Friday, April 11th from 3-7 p.m. in PAI 4.18. If you are interested in volunteering, please let us know by signing up.
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008, from 10 AM to 3 PM Longhorn Research Bazaar The university will be holding a celebration of research, and, of course, SURGe will be helping out. If you can join us, please sign up to volunteer.
Friday, April 18th, 2008, from 8:30 AM to 4 PM College of Natural Sciences Undergraduate Research Fair As part of the university’s research week, SURGe helps out for the final Undergraduate Research Forum, "an opportunity for students to present and share the research they've done over the past semester or year(s), for faculty and other students to see and celebrate the cutting edge research that undergraduates are doing, and for representatives from industry to get a taste of where science is going and who's taking it there." SURGe is looking for volunteers in putting this massive event on. Volunteers will receive free breakfast for their help.
The FRC Plant Files The FRC has started a new blog called The FRC Plant Files to help customers at our weekly plant sales learn about the lovely products they’ve purchased. For future reference, you can find the link on our homepage, under the spotlight section.
Thursday and Friday, April 3rd and 4th Lab tours Thursday, April 3rd, at 2:00 PM is a tour of the Lloyd lab, which studies plant developmental biology. On Tuesday at 2;30 PM is the Shankland lab tour about spatial patterning in embryonic development. These tours have limited spaces available, so sign up while you still can.
Friday, April 4th, 2008, 4 to 5 PM Dr. Laura Suggs This meeting Dr. Laura Suggs will be speaking. She's a BME professor, and her lab researches topics including: cardiovascular tissue engineering, extracellular matrix analogs, adult progenitor cells, and vasculogenesis. Join us at the usual time and place for a good meeting and, of course, free pizza.
Friday, April 4th, 2008, from 5:45 to 7 PM God, Darwin, and Design Dr. Kenneth Miller from Brown University will be presenting a lecture titled: "God, Darwin, and Design: Lessons from the Dover Monkey Trial". The lecture will take place at 7:00pm at Welch Hall 2.224 on The University of Texas campus. Pre-lecture activities begin at 5:45pm. Typically the outreach lectures draw between 300 and 500 educators, students, and others from the community. If you can help with pre-lecture activities, please register.
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday Plenty of lab tours SURGe has some great lab tours coming up. On Tuesday at noon is the Shankland lab tour about spatial patterning in embryonic development. On Friday at 1:00 PM is a tour of the Roux lab, which focuses on extracellular ATP, apyrase, and annexin in plants. Next Thursday at 2:00 PM is a tour of the Lloyd lab, which studies plant developmental biology. The tours have limited space, so sign up while you still can.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008, from 4 to 6 PM Workshop #3: the Presentation Workshop Learn about presenting your poster. The Undergraduate Writing Center will help in converting students' research into scientific communication. Get ideas and advice on the best way to go about presenting your poster. Let the Writing Center and the Office of Undergraduate Research help you! Wednesday, March 19th from 4-6 p.m. in WEL 1.308. Free pizza and drinks!
Friday, March 21st, 2008, at 4 PM Dr. Kephart meeting To continue our exciting research activities, join us for our Ambion Meeting! Dan Kephart, PhD (Sr. Manager, Sample Prep, Ambion/Applied Biosystems R&D) has been involved in biotech research for the past 20 years, has spent 5 years at SmithKline Beecham (now GlaxoSmithKline), 11 years at Promega, and is now heading up the Sample Prep Group at Applied Biosystems/Ambion. An overview of his group (13 scientists), the organization of his work, the commercialization of how products come into play, and areas of current interest will be given. Don't miss out! Free pizza and drinks, in our usual location, PAI 3.02.
Friday, March 7, 2008, from 4 to 6 PM Lab safety certification meeting UT’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety will present their two-hour “Lab Safety Class.” All participating students will receive a certificate of official lab safety certification. Anyone, working in any laboratory on campus, must be certified. Also, it is a great thing to add to your résumé/CV to show you are prepared for research. To attend, you must RSVP beforehand so that your certificate can be printed in time.
Saturday, March 1, 2008, from 8 AM to 6 PM Explore UT Sign up to help take on Explore UT with us this year. Explore UT is a university-wide “open house” where people come to get a peek at what happens on campus. We’ll be involved in many amazing events throughout the day. If that doesn’t excite you, wait until you hear that volunteers who work at least four hours will get a free shirt.
Saturday, March 1, 2008 Scholarship opportunity The online application for the 2008-2009 College of Natural Sciences scholarships (which includes scholarships given through the Dean's Office, Health Profession Scholarships and the Out-of-State Tuition Waivers) is now available. In addition to the online application, students must have two faculty members submit letters of recommendation on their behalf.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008, from 4 to 6 PM Workshop # 2: the Writing Workshop Learn about writing the content for your poster. The Undergraduate Writing Center will help in converting students' research into scientific communication. Prepare your poster with the Writing Center's help! Wednesday, February 27th, from 4-6 p.m. in WEL 1.308. Free pizza and drinks!
Friday, February 22, 2008, from 4 to 5 PM See if the MD/PhD program is for you This week’s meeting will be about the UT Southwestern MD/PhD Program, with discussion by Dennis Mckearin Ph.D., from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at UT Southwestern Medical School. Afterwards, we’ll be heading to the ESI event, described below.
Friday, February 22, 2008, at 5:45 PM ESI: Our Energy Future Environmental Science Institute at The University of Texas is hosting its next "Hot Science - Cool Talks" outreach lecture on Friday, February 22, 2007. Dr. Michael Webber from The University of Texas will be presenting a lecture titled: "Our Energy Future." The lecture will take place at 7:00 PM at Welch Hall on the University of Texas campus. If you can join us, please sign up for our always-a-blast pre-lecture activities, which begin at 5:45 PM.
Friday, February 15, 2008, from 4 to 6 PM Workshop # 1: Why present at the Undergraduate Research Forum? Co-sponsored by SURGe and the Office of Undergraduate Research Faculty members will share their perspective on the importance of scientific communication (including the importance of posters). Past poster presenters will share their experience, advice, and perspective. This will be the 5th SURGe meeting! Join us on Friday, February 15th from 4-6 p.m in PAI 3.02. Free pizza and drinks as always! And a special bonus: This meeting is worth 2 active SURGe points!
Friday, February 8, 2008 Immunomodulate this. Dr. Christopher Jolly will be speaking on February 8. His research examines the influence of aging and diet on immune function with special emphasis on lipid metabolism and signal transduction. This meeting will be held in our normal PAI 3.02 from 4 - 5 PM.
Wednesday, January 30th, from 7 to 8 PM The 2% SOLUTION Web Cast In conjunction with Focus the Nation, the Center for Science and Practice of Sustainability in the Provost's Office is sponsoring a free, live, interactive webcast called The 2% SOLUTION. Join Stanford University climate scientist, Stephen Schneider, sustainability expert Hunter Lovinsand green jobs pioneer Van Jones and youth climate leaders, for a discussion of global warming solutions. Audiences can weigh in with cell phone voting. This will take place Wednesday, January 30 from 7:00-8:00 p.m. In the Barrow Conference Room, GEO 4.102. This event is open to all who are interested.
Friday, February 1st, from 4 to 6 PM The Science Undergraduate Research Fair is almost here! Come join us in SURF where various researching professors, graduates, and undergraduates will present their research posters. There will be food, prizes, games, panels, and more! If you would like to present your research at SURF, e-mail Nicole. SURF will be held in the Texas Union Lonestar and Quadrangle Rooms. The first 100 people to sign-up using our registration form will receive a free t-shirt. All majors welcome! If you’ve got some extra time, please help us by volunteering, too.
January 25, 2008 Don’t you know that you’re toxic? Presenting: Dr. Andrea Gore, Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology. Her lab interest is in the mechanisms that the brain uses to control reproductive development and aging. She focuses on a group of neurons in the hypothalamus that synthesize and release a peptide, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), that is the primary molecule controlling reproductive function. As usual, this meeting is from 4 - 5 PM in PAI 3.02.
January 17, 2008 Welcome back. Our first meeting will be this Friday, January 18th, from 4 - 5 PM in the ususal PAI 3.02. Please join us for an introduction meeting and a brief information session on how to get involved in undergraduate research.