Quinnipiac Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society Seminar Series presents Dr. Rebekah Stein

 Wednesday, November 8 at 1:00 PM in Student Center 120

Quinnipiac Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society Seminar Series 

presents Dr. Rebekah Stein, 

Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Quinnipiac University 

“Environmental Controls on Plant ‘Isotope Biogeochemistry’”

The topics of this talk primarily center on carbon and its bonds with other elements in common organic compounds within plants. Namely, plants change their isotope biogeochemistry as a result of changed physiological behavior in times of stress (often related to environmental stressors). This includes factors such as atmospheric composition (e.g., carbon dioxide, oxygen), water availability (e.g., precipitation), temperature, and more. These changes can be measured in the laboratory and can be used as tools to examine the impacts of climate change on our biological carbon sink as well as feeding behaviors (in agriculture and humans, microbes, pollinators, and more). The breadth of uses for isotope biogeochemistry is wide; this talk will demonstrate several potential uses, including those going on at QU.

Rebekah Stein graduated with a PhD in Environmental Geochemistry & Paleoclimatology from the University of Michigan in 2020, where she focused on how modern and ancient plants and soils were impacted by carbon dioxide and water availability. She continued this work in more complex plant compounds during a postdoctoral fellowship at University of California, Berkeley until she joined the faculty at Quinnipiac University. She teaches environmental science and chemistry courses from her role in the Department of Chemistry & Physical Sciences.

Quinnipiac Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society Seminar Series presents Dr. Hany Dweck

Quinnipiac Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society

Seminar Series presents Dr. Hany Dweck, Assistant Scientist II, Department of Entomology, CT Agricultural Experiment Station

“How Does Spotted Lanternfly Smell its Chemical World?”

Tuesday, December 5 at 10:00 AM in Student Center 120

The spotted lanternfly (SLF), first found in North America in Pennsylvania in late 2014, is a serious invasive pest. It possesses piercing-sucking mouthparts that puncture plant stems, leaves, and fruit to feed on the sap, affecting over 70 different plant species, including economically important ones such as grapevines, maple trees, black walnut, birch, willow, and others. This feeding activity weakens and stresses plants, making them more susceptible to diseases and environmental stressors, potentially leading to decreased health and tree mortality. Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) reports that approximately half of the state's trees are threatened by the SLF invasion. SLF, like numerous other insects, primarily relies on olfactory cues to locate its host trees. Additionally, olfaction plays a crucial role for the SLF in predator avoidance, aggregation, mate selection, and identifying suitable sites for feeding and depositing its egg masses. In this seminar, we will delve into the olfactory mechanisms and their pivotal role in an interaction that holds both economic urgency and fundamental biological significance: the interaction between SLF and Connecticut's trees. Through a comprehensive exploration of the olfactory mechanisms underlying the SLF-Connecticut's trees interaction, we aspire to make significant contributions to our understanding of this ecological relationship and uncover novel strategies for effective pest control.

Dr. Dweck has been a Chemical ecologist and Assistant Scientist II in the department of Entomology at the Connecticut Agricultural Station since January 2023. He earned a B.Sc. and M.Sc. at Cairo University, Ph.D. at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, and conducted postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Dr. John Carlson at Yale University.  He was born in Giza, Egypt, and has lived in Sweden, Germany, and the United States.  He is also a proud husband and father of two boys. His laboratory studies how crop pests find their host plants, communicate, and avoid danger using tools and techniques from various fields, including behavior, electrophysiology, analytical chemistry, molecular biology, and genetics.

Quinnipiac Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society Seminar Series presents Dr. Marta Clepper,

Quinnipiac Chapter of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society

Seminar Series presents

 Dr. Marta Clepper, Assistant Teaching Professor of Physical Science at Quinnipiac University

“Is a Category 6 Hurricane on the Horizon?”

Monday, October 2 at 3:00 PM in Buckman Theater (BC 150)

This talk will include discussion on hurricanes, understanding why and where they form, and a look at some historical hurricanes. Past and present trends on numbers of hurricanes and links to changes in the Earth’s climate will be examined. Finally, a look at the impacts hurricanes have on coastal communities and environments and what can be done to protect them from the dual threat of rising sea levels and increasing strengths of these storms. 

Dr. Clepper is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Physical Sciences who has been at Quinnipiac University for six years. She earned a BS in Geology at Columbus State University (Columbus, GA), as MS in Geology at the University of Texas El Paso (El Paso, TX), and a PhD in Geology at the University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY). She teaches Earth Sciences and Natural Disasters at Quinnipiac. She has done research on the origins of zircon minerals in the Southern Appalachians, paleoclimate from 12 million years ago in western Texas, and the lithology and sedimentary depositional history of the 450-million-year-old Lexington Limestone Formation of central Kentucky. 

12th Annual QU Sigma Xi Conference (2023)

12th Annual QU Sigma Xi Conference (2023)

12th Annual QU Sigma Xi Conference (2023)

April 21st Abstract submission deadline https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SigmaXiQU2023

April 26th -- Distinguished Speaker and Student Poster Public Viewing

• Poster Hours: 3:30-5:30 pm 
• Students present posters with public attendance (students will be at their poster either 3:30-4:30 or 4:30-5:30, they can visit other posters during the other hour) 
• TBA # of posters, view the abstracts here: https://tinyurl.com/SigmaXiQU2023 (not live yet)
• 5:30
• Student Awards
• Induction Ceremony for new members
• Paper of the Year Award
• Distinguished Speaker: 5:45pm 
• Speaker name: M. S. Shur, Professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180
• Program name: Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diodes Save Lives

Distinguished Lecturer M. S. Shur, Professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 will present "Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diodes Save Lives"

Distinguished Lecturer M. S. Shur, Professor of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180 will present "Ultraviolet Light Emitting Diodes Save Lives"

April 26th 2023 5:45pm 

Modern light sources -Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) - are 20 times more efficient than incandescent bulbs and nearly 3 times more efficient than more modern compact fluorescent lamps. It is even more important that LEDs can produce light optimized for specific needs and applications, such as light for treating the seasonal affective disorder, growing plants, and preserving or even “restoring” paintings and objects of art. Many emerging applications are in medicine, lighting for seniors, merchandising, the automotive industry, photography, the film industry, and theatre lighting.

LEDs go beyond the visible range: they are capable of producing ultraviolet (UV) light. UV radiation finds numerous applications in water and air purification, sterilization, biological threat identification, medicine, biology, industrial processes, defense, and homeland security. Conventional ultraviolet mercury, xenon, and deuterium lamps are bulky, might contain mercury, produce ozone, require high voltages, slow to turn on, and have a limited set of available wavelengths. UV LEDs are environmentally friendly and compact sources consuming low power and emitting at many wavelengths. Research is now underway to use these LEDs for increasing yield, improving quality, and extending the storage time of fruits and vegetables. UV LEDs will help reduce waste, alleviate the problem of world hunger, purify water, kill bacteria and viruses, and solve the tremendous problem of Hospital Acquired Infections (leading to nearly 100,000 deaths annually in the United States alone).