Meeting:

3rd Annual AIBS, BSCS, NESCent Evolution Science and Education Symposium


Date14-Oct-2006
Summary3rd Annual AIBS, BSCS, NESCent Evolution Science and Education Symposium
October 14, 2006, 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Albuquerque, NM. The Annual Meeting of the National Association of Biology Teachers


Additional information:
3rd ANNUAL EVOLUTION, EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM TO BE HELD IN ALBUQUERQUE ON OCTOBER 14, 2006


This year's theme: "Macroevolution: Evolution above the Species Level"


The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study(BSCS) and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) are pleased to announce the 3rd annual evolution science and education symposium, "Macroevolution: Evolution above the Species Level." The one-day symposium will take place on October 14, 2006 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the annual meeting of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT).


The AIBS/BSCS/NESCent evolution symposium was established three years ago to improve the quality of science education. The symposium provides classroom teachers with an opportunity to learn about the latest developments in evolution science from leading evolution scholars. Science teachers attending the symposium as part of the NABT annual meeting will receive tips, classroom resources, and practical
training in ways to incorporate the research findings presented during
the symposium into their classroom lessons.


The BSCS - a Colorado Springs-based non-profit organization that works to improve all students' understanding of science and technology by developing exemplary curricular materials, supporting their widespread and effective use, providing professional development, and conducting research and evaluation studies - will provide teachers with hands-on exercises and resources.


Symposium speakers will include:


Dr. Philip Gingerich is Professor of Geological Sciences and Director of the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan. Additionally, Dr. Gingerich holds faculty appointments in the Department of Anthropology, and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Dr. Gingerich has long-established research projects in several parts of the world. For instance, working with a colleague in Pakistan Dr. Gingerich is studying the origin of whales. Dr. Gingerich's research team was the first to find skeletons linking whales to artiodactyl land mammals. Additionally, Dr. Gingerich is
interested in understanding how evolutionary processes over generations yield microevolutionary and macroevolutionary patterns observed on longer historical and geological scales of time.


Dr. Gingerich will speak on "Fossils and the Origin of Whales."


Dr. Scott Hodges is Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Dr. Hodges conducts research on the genetic structure of plant adaptation and reproduction, as well as the genetic diversity and conservation biology of plant life in the California Channel Islands. Dr. Hodges received undergraduate and graduate degrees in botany from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to joining UC Santa Barbara, Dr. Hodges conducted research at the University of Georgia.


Dr. Hodges will speak on "The Generation of Plant Biodiversity: Linking Historical Patterns with Evolutionary Processes."


Dr. David Jablonski is a Professor and Chairman of the Committee on Evolutionary Biology and a professor in the Department of Geophysical Sciences at the University of Chicago. Dr. Jablonski is also a research associate at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and has been an Honorary Research Fellow at the Natural History Museum in London. Dr. Jablonksi's research examines living and fossil organisms to determine their environmental histories and the evolutionary significance of extinction events.


Dr. Jablonski will speak on the "Evolutionary Role of Extinctions and Recoveries in the History of Life."


Dr. Nicole King is Assistant Professor of Genetics and Development in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. King is also a faculty affiliate of the UC Berkeley Center for Integrative Genomics. Dr. King conducts research on the evolution and development of multicellular organisms. The goal of Dr. King's research is to better understand the origin and evolution of animals from a common ancestor.


The title for Dr. King's talk is "From Protozoa to Metazoa: The Origin of Animal Multicellularity."


Dr. Jeffery S. Levinton is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Dr. Levinton conducts research on the evolutionary aspects of marine ecological processes. Dr. Levinton also uses molecular biology to determine the evolutionary age of various animals.


Dr. Levinton will speak about the "Cambrian Explosion and the Nature of
Evidence."


Dr. Nipam Patel is a Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Patel is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at UC Berkeley. Dr. Patel is well known for his research on the evolution of development mechanisms, most notably, the development of body plans.


Dr. Patel will speak about "The Evolution of Animal Bodyplans: Insights from Arthropod Development."


For more information about the 2006 NABT annual meeting and to
register for the AIBS/BSCS/NESCent symposium, please go to
http://www.nabt2006.org/.


For more information about this AIBS/BSCS/NESCent Evolution Symposium,
please go to www.aibs.org/special-symposia/2006_macroevolution.html or http://eog.nescent.org/NABTsymposium.htm .


For more information about prior AIBS/BSCS/NESCent Evolution Symposia,
please go to http://www.aibs.org/special-symposia/ or http://eog.nescent.org/NABTsymposium.htm .