2010 In the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University (updated 21 January 2010)

Dr. James H. Oliver, Jr., the director of the James H. Oliver Jr. Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology and the Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Biology Emeritus, both at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga., an international expert in the biology of ticks and mites, especially those that cause or transmit diseases, received the 2010 Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa "Grads Made Good" award. Dr. Oliver's 1954 M.S. from FSU's Department of Zoology was supervised by the late Dr. Robert B. Short, who retired from the Department of Biological Science in 1990.

The inaugural Fowler Symposium in Frontiers in Molecular Biology, "Host-Microbe Interactions," took place Friday, 17 December 2010, in 1024 KIN, the large auditorium in the King Life Sciences Building. It featured speakers from around the United States as well as from FSU and represents a first step toward filling of the department's newly endowed Fowler Chair.

Graduate student Erin Simmons was named a 2010 Florida Gubernatorial Fellow (one of eight from Florida State and 13 statewide).

More news and events of 2010

Administration
Faculty roster
Arrivals
Departures
Awards to faculty, students, staff
Publications
Alumni newsletter (Responses)
Obituaries

Administration

Chair: P. Bryant Chase
Associate Chair for Graduate Studies: George W. Bates
Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies: Laura R. Keller
Associate Chair for Curriculum Development: Lloyd M. Epstein

Arrivals

• New assistant professor Hongchang Cui

• New assistant professor Steven Lenhert

• 2010 William R. and Lenore Mote Eminent Scholar in Fisheries Biology Dr. Peter Auster, of the University of Connecticut

• New greenhouse manager Theresa Jepsen

• New chairman's assistant Guy L. Duffner

Departures

• Professor and University Provost Lawrence G. Abele, who retired in December

• Long-time greenhouse manager Karen Graffius-Ashcraft, who retired in February

• Chairman's secretary Diane Pealor

• Long-time Associate in Research in the Molecular Cloning Facility Pushparani (Rani) Dhanarajan, who retired at the end of November (her position was taken by Brian Washburn, until then a visiting scholar/scientist in the Unit I building)

• OPS computer tech José Vega

Awards

  Faculty Awards

• Professor Lawrence G. Abele, a Biological Science faculty member who also received his B.S. (1968) and M.S. (1970) degrees from the department, received the Bernard F. Sliger Award, the highest honor bestowed by the FSU Alumni Association, for his distinguished service since November 1994 as The Florida State University's provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. Dr. Abele left the post of provost in December 2010 to devote his full attention to the Institute for Academic Leadership, a statewide program for new academic administrators.

• Professor Don R. Levitan was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

• Associate Professor Brian D. Inouye was named a 2010-11 Fulbright Scholar and will spend spring of 2010 conducting research in Sweden.

• Associate Professor Wu-Min Deng received an FSU Developing Scholar Award, which includes a $10,000 contribution to his research program.

• Associate Professors Nora Underwood and Fanxiu Zhu received $14,000 awards from the FSU Council on Research and Creative Activity.

• Professor P. Bryant Chase was named the 2009-10 Honorary Professor of the Year by the FSU chapter of the Beta Beta Beta Honorary Society.

  Student Awards

• Graduate student Casey ter Horst (Dr. Levitan's lab) received an FSU Graduate Research and Creativity Award

• Graduate student Tania Kim (Dr. Underwood's lab) received an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award (then, in a drawing for which the award made her eligible, won one of five Sony awards)

• Graduate student Amber Brown (Dr. Bass's lab) won the 2010 student speaker award at the meeting of the Southern Section of the American Society for Plant Biology

• Graduate student John Williams (Dr. Chase's lab) was designated a 2010 FSU Program for Instructional Excellence Fellow

• Graduate student Karen Alvarez-Delfin (Dr. J. Fadool's lab)was awaraded a Wilson-Auzenne Graduate Assistantship

• Graduate student Lisa Barrow (Dr. Lemmon's lab) was awarded an FSU University Fellowship

• Graduate students Megan Jones (Dr. DuVal's lab), Lisa Barrow (Dr. Lemmon's lab), and Alexa Warwick (Dr. Lemmon's lab) were all awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships

• Graduate students Jennifer Ivey Middlebrooks (Dr. L. Keller's lab) and Sarah Lueking (Dr. Dennis's lab) both received FSU Graduate School travel awards to attend the Atlantic Coast Conference Interdisciplinary Forum for Discovery in Life Sciences, held in Blacksburg, Virginia

• Graduate Student Publication Award: Elise Gornish
  
• The Robert K. Godfrey Scholarship: Brian Spiesman
  
• The Margaret Menzel Memorial Scholarship: Karen Alvarez-Delfin, Tyrone Ryba
  
• The Robert B. Short Scholarship in Zoology: Lisa Barrow
  
• The Brenda Bennison Memorial Scholarship: Kenneth Wray
  
• The Jack Winn Gramling Research Award in Marine Biology: Nicole Fogarty
  
• The Horace Loftin Endowment Award: Caroline Stahala, Anna Strimaitis
  

• Undergraduate Kourtney Graham took the First Place Johnson Award in Molecular Biology for her poster entitled "Investigating the role of 14-3-3 proteins in the brain using transgenic mice" at the Beta Beta Beta Honorary Society national meeting

• Undergraduate Amy Sloan took the Second Place Johnson Award in Molecular Biology for her poster entitled "Mapping of the B1 gnomeic transgene within the maize genome"

• Undergraduate students Christopher Matechik and Megan Mayo presented talks on their summer-long research projects at the 5th Annual Undergraduate and Creative Activities Award Symposium, sponsored by the FSU Office of National Fellowships

• Undergraduate students Aviram Assidon, Kany Azit, Rebecca Ann Falter, Nina Hyvarinen, Anushi Patel, Illana Tegov, and Meghan Webb presented posters on their summer-long research projects at the 5th Annual Undergraduate and Creative Activities Award Symposium

• Undergraduate Aviram Assidon received an honors conference travel award to attend the third World Congress of Pediatric Surgeons in New Delhi, India

• Undergraduate Jesse O'Shea was named to USA Today's All-USA College Academic First Team

• Undergraduate Jessica Parry received a 2010 FSU Golden Torch Award

• Undergraduate Erin Simmons received a 2010 FSU Golden Torch Award, represetned FSU at FSU DAy in the Florida legislature, represented Biological Science at the FSU convocation for new students, and was named a finalist for the 2010 Rhodes Scholarships

• Biological Science Alumni Scholarship: Brian Bishop, Kaitlin Boyle
  
• The John Mark Caffrey Scholarship: Vincent Labarbera, Shannon Mills, Samantha O'Hara, Kany Aziz
  
• The Biological Science Faculty Award for Undergraduate Scholarship: Vincent Labarbera, Shannon Mills
  
• Francenia E. Fisher Scholarship: Alexander Chapman, Emily Wright
  
• The Charles M. McAllister Undergraduate Research Award: Emily Lee, Shannon Mills
  
• The Varina Vaughn-Winona Jordan Scholarship: Alexander Chapman, Rachel Atchison
  

  Staff Awards

• Alexander Stuy, Technology Specialist, received an FSU Exemplary Service Award in Technology
  
• Kim Riddle, Scientific Research Specialist, received an FSU Exemplary Service Award in Scientific and Research Services
  
• Linda Sims, Grants Compliance Analyst, was honored for 30 years of service to FSU
  
• Bobbie Weston, Administrative Support Assistant, was honored for 10 years of service to FSU
  

Obituaries

• Dr. Dexter M. Easton, Professor Emeritus of Biological Science, died 12 March 2010, in Tallahassee, of pneumonia. Dr. Easton joined the department in 1956, served as a University Service Professor from 1982 until 2004, and retired fully to become a professor emeritus in 2004. Obituary.

• Dr. L. Raymond Fox, member of the Biological Science faculty 1969-1979, died 26 September 2010, in Wichita, Kansas, of melanoma (first diagnosed in 1983).

This page is part of the Departmental History Project of the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University. Can you help us fill in the blanks? If you were once a student here, or a member of our faculty or staff, we'd love to hear from you. Send an e-mail to thistle@bio.fsu.edu, a fax to (850) 645-8447, or snail-mail to Dr. Anne B. Thistle, Editor, Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4295. And thanks!