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Bios The Biology Department Newsletter Spring 1999 Volume 14: No. 1, Editor: J. Maxwell, Publisher J.W. Dole California State University, Northridge Biology Faculty Achievements Dr. Larry Allen has been named to a three-year, renewable term as Director of the CSU's Ocean Studies Institute, a consortium of the marine science programs of seven CSU campuses in southern California (Northridge, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Fullerton, Dominguez Hills, Pomona, and San Marcos). OSI coordinates marine education and research among its member campuses and operates the 80-ft research vessel Yellowfin. The Directorship of OSI is a half-time position, so Dr. Allen will continue to teach marine courses at Cal State Northridge. Dr. Randy Cohen recently published a paper entitled "The Neuroprotective effects of non-NMDA antagonists in the cerebellum of the spastic Han Wistar mutant" in Developmental Neuroscience. Graduate student Chris Hernandez and former graduate student Abraham Nisim co-authored the paper. Dr. Thomas Valone has recently had two papers accepted for publication. "Fire and grazing in a shrub-invaded arid grassland community: independent or interactive effects?" will appear in the Journal of Arid Environments. "Foraging under multiple costs: the importance of predation, energetic and missed opportunity costs to a desert forager," co-authored with former student Marc Meyer, is destined for Oikos. Marc, who did his Master's thesis under the guidance of Dr. Paula Schiffman, is in a Ph.D. program at UC Davis; he and Dr. Schiffman have also had a paper accepted for publication in Madroño. Two faculty membersóDrs. Cheryl Hogue and Steven Dudgeonówere among the faculty selected by the Graduate Studies, Research and International Programs Office for a reassigned time award. Each 3-unit award provides time during the spring semester to devote to research. Dr. Larry Baresi published a paper describing a new bacterial species in Arch. Microbiol. The paper, entitled "Isolation and characterization of Desulfovibrio senezii, sp. nov., a halotolerant sulfate reducer from a solar saltern and phylogenetic confirmation of Desulfovibrio fructosovorans as a new species," was co-authored by UCLA colleagues I.H. Tsu, C-Yu Huang, J.-L Garcia, B.K. Patel, J-L Cayol, and R.A. Mah. Dr. Cheryl Hogue received a USC Sea Grant for $9553 to study "Macroparasites as indicators of pollution exposure in fishes from Santa Monica Bay, southern California." Dr. Larry Allen has received $50,000 in supplementary support to continue his fisheries inventory project in San Diego. Job-Hunting on the Internet More and more, graduating students looking for jobs are turning to websites for information. As an aid to its graduates, the Biology Department is starting a file of websites that contain job information for biologists. One very useful website for students seeking jobs in the Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical, Medical Device and Instrumentation industries is provided by Symbios, Inc. This website offers a searchable database with complete job listings of nearly 500 companies with openings covering the spectrum from Entry Level to Senior Management. The web address is http://www.symbiosinc.com. If you are seeking a job in environmental biology, take a look at Cyber-Sierra's Natural Resources Job Search at http:// www.cyber-sierra.com/nrjobs/read.html. This site has numerous links to private and government jobs. Two others that are very useful for environmental biologists are Nature Conservency Jobs (http://www .tnc.org/involved/html/jobopps.html) and E Jobs (Http://ejobs.org/). For those looking for a career with the US government, the Office of Personnel Management is the place. By law all job openings must be posted at http://www. usajobs.opm.gov/a.htm. As we become aware of more such sites, we will include them on the Department's webpages and on a handout eventually to be available in the Advisement Center. If you know of other websites useful for job searches, please send the information to Dr. Joyce Maxwell (joyce. maxwell@csun.edu). Fall 1999 Course Offerings The following courses are scheduled for fall, ë99. Organic Evolution (Biol 560) taught by Dr. Paul Wilson. Topics of special emphasis are the mechanisms of natural selection, the interpretation of adaptations, and the origin of species. Says Dr. Wilson, "This is a class that has a long reach. I'd really like to see grad students and seniors from all areas of biologyódevelopment and physiology, as well as genetics and ecology." The Algae (Biol. 504) taught by Dr. Robert Carpenter. The course covers the systematics and physiological ecology of marine algae and their interactions with other organisms. It satifies the field studies requirement for the BA degree. Graduate seminar on Physical Biology (Biol. 615C) also taught by Dr. Carpenter. The focus is on interactions of organisms (mainly marine) with their environment. Topics will include hydrodynamics, biomechanics, diffusional and mass transfer processes with emphasis on how these affect morphology, physiology, and abundance. Principles of Electron Microscopy (Biol 575) taught by Dr. O. Tacheeni Scott. The course involves theory and techniques of general microscopy and practical experience with the scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Techniques will be applied to a variety of organisms, from insects and bacteria to plant and animal tissue. Graduate seminar (Biol. 655A) on Photosynthetic Life on Earth taught by Dr. Michael Summers. Using current literature, students will explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms organisms use to transform light into energy usable in biological systems. Students will explore the literature and present their findings in seminar format. Completion of an upper division microbiology course is recommended. Looking Ahead: In spring, 2000, Dr. Michael Summers will offer Bacterial Diversity (Biol 418) for the first time in many years. Thereafter, the course will be offered each spring, Microbial Ecology (Biol. 419) each fall. Biology Honors Program The Biology Honors Program is a great way for undergraduates to obtain research experience that will enhance their academic careers and better prepare them for graduate and professional schools. Students admitted to the program conduct a Senior Thesis Project under the direction of a research sponsor and submit the final thesis to the Honors Committee for approval. Students who complete the Program will have "Honors in Biology" added to their bachelor's degree. To be considered for admission to the Honors Program, an applicant must have completed 90 units of college work, hold a G.P.A. of 3.50 both in the major and overall, and have a faculty sponsor. If interested, contact Dr. Cheryl Hogue at 677-3349 or email her at cheryl.hogue@ csun.edu. Summer Research Opportunities Dr. Paul Wilson has a paid summer internship for an undergraduate who wants to study pollination and who can spend ten weeks camping in central California and Mexico. Students fluent in Spanish will be given preference. Contact Dr. Wilson at paul.wilson@csun.edu. Other summer opportunities for undergraduates, many of them paid positions or internships with stipends, are also available. Last summer Cal State Northridge students worked in England, Colorado, Washington, D.C, and Puerto Rico. Of particular interest are programs that offer a chance to do research at another university as part of a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. To access the lists of the universities send an email message to Stisserv@NSF.gov. A ten-week summer research experience is available to minority and women students at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, at least eighteen, and have completed their freshman, sophomore or junior year. Check http://www. scied.bnl.gov/programs/seop.html. Los Alamos National Laboratory has summer research internships for 300 science and engineering students. Contact: Los Alamos National Laboratory, MS P282, Los Alamos, NM 87545, (505) 667-8622. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institute of Health offers a Biomedical Research Training Program for Underrepresented Minorities. Students in the program work with leading research investigators for up to two years for a yearly stipend of $16,900 or more. The website address of the program is www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ nhlbi/train/ redbook/undbrtum.htm. The National Security Education Program (NSEP) has 300 scholarships for students to study abroad. Up to $8,000 per term is available. Applicants must show how study abroad complements their academic and career goals. Study of a foreign language is required. Semester or summer research programs in marine science are available at Woods Hole, Mass. through the SEA Education Association. Contact Judith Froman at (508) 540-3954 or (800) 552-3633 x34. The US Forest Service needs volunteers at its Intermountain Research Station (INT), one of eight Research Stations. Research is coordinated and conducted at universities in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. Some positions provide housing, a subsistence allowance, and work related transportation. For a directory of volunteer opportunities contact: Volunteer Coordinator, Salmon National Forest, Salmon Ranger District, P.O. Box 729, Salmon, ID 83467, (208) 756-3724. The Wetlands Institute hires research interns with background in biology to assist researchers. Housing is provided. Contact: Director of Education, Wetlands Institute, 1075 Stone Harbor Blvd., Stone Harbor, NJ 08247-1424, (609) 368-1211. Dr. Maria Elena Zavala, director of the MARC/MBRS program, has LOTS of information on summer internships and research experiences. Some programs are restricted to minority students, but many are not. Some application deadlines are in February or March, so check now. The MARC/MBRS office (Sci 2310) is open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. M-F. Cancer Course Needs Volunteers Dr. Steve Oppenheimer's Biology of Cancer course will be taught fall, l999 for the 25th time. Lectures on all aspects of cancer biology will be given by Dr. Oppenheimer and a variety of prestigious guest speakers. Students interested in helping to plan the course are encouraged to contact Dr. Oppenheimer. His office is in the basement of Science 2, room 2005. Graduate School Admissions Monica Tully, a graduate student in Dr. Steven Oppenheimer's laboratory, has been admitted to Cornell University's Cell/Molecular Ph.D. program with a $16,000 annual fellowship. Steven Vollmer, one of Dr. Peter Edmunds' students, has been accepted to a Ph.D. Program at Harvard where he will work with Dr. Steven Palumbi.