C-DEBI Newsletter – May 15, 2013
C-DEBI Newsletter – May 15, 2013This newsletter is also accessible via our website.
Dear C-DEBI,
C-DEBI is evaluating our management effectiveness over the last year, so please respond to the survey to help us improve where needed! Check out the latest C-DEBI Contributed Publication featuring data from a new, continuous fluid sampling system, and for those who missed it, C-DEBI’s first Professional Development Webinar on creating a science “elevator talk” is now posted online. On the topic of online events, mark your calendars for the next Networked Speaker Series with Tim Engelhardt coming up in two weeks and see below for an NSF call for instrumentation proposals and more!
1. Survey: Help C-DEBI Evaluate It’s Management Effectiveness
By now, you should hopefully have received an invitation to evaluate C-DEBI’s management effectiveness during our 2012/2013 year. We value your input on C-DEBI’s ability to meet critical management goals with respect to managing research support, managing scientific collaboration and managing education and outreach. And we welcome your suggestions for the C-DEBI Management Team going forward. This survey is being administered by our External Evaluator, Beth Rabin, who will ensure that your responses are kept anonymous and follow up with occasional friendly reminders to anyone who has not completed the survey, which should take about 5-10 minutes of your time. Please check your spam folder if you haven’t received her emails (sent via surveymonkey.com).
As part of C-DEBI’s professional development program for graduate students and postdocs, bimonthly webinars will be offered on a range of topics and put online online afterwards for the entire C-DEBI community. The first webinar focused on developing a research elevator talk, combining theory with effective tools on how to break down research for a non-expert audience. What do you tell people when they ask what you do? Are you able to explain your research to your grandmother? Spend an hour learning how to bring your science to the public! Presented by Dave Bader (Education Director, Aquarium of the Pacific), Emily Yam (Science Interpretation Coordinator, Aquarium of the Pacific), Dr. Jenny Lentz (Marine Science Fellow, Aquarium of the Pacific) and Dr. Myrna Jacobson-Myers (Research Assistant Scientist, USC).
Tim Engelhardt is a graduate student at Oldenburg University’s Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM). His current research is focused on phage inventory of the deep biosphere by ecophysiological studies on ODP/IODP isolates in order to answer the following questions: to which extent are deep-biosphere populations controlled by viral infections? What is the inter- and intraspecific diversity and host-specific viral biogeography? Can viral infections tell us something about the physiological state of indigenous microorganisms? Finally, Engelhardt seeks to obtain estimates for the viral shunt as an important factor for sustaining the deep biosphere. The C-DEBI Networked Speaker series aims to enhance communication and the exchange of ideas across C-DEBI participants (YOU!) distributed across the U.S. and around the world. Previous NSS recording are available for viewing online.
Julie Robidart et al. developed a low-cost, continuous fluid sampling system (the Biological OsmoSampling System, or BOSS) to address limited capacity in concurrently collecting microbial and geochemical samples at appropriate spatial and temporal scales. The BOSS does not use electricity, can be deployed in harsh/remote environments, and collects/preserves samples with daily resolution for >1 year. In this publication, they present data on the efficacy of DNA and protein preservation and reveal marked changes in microbial composition co-occurring with changes in hydrothermal fluid composition. They also present the temporal dynamics of a sulfide-oxidizing symbiont in its free-living state as well as the first data on in situ protein preservation and expression dynamics, highlighting the BOSS’s potential utility in meta-proteomic studies.
The Consortium for Ocean Leadership, in association with the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), is seeking new U.S.-based members for the U.S. Advisory Committee for Scientific Ocean Drilling (USAC) and the Advisory Panels to the JOIDES Resolution Facility Board, specifically the Proposal Evaluation Panel and Site Characterization Panel. We are also seeking both U.S. and international members for the JOIDES Resolution Facility Board. New members will serve three-year terms beginning in October 2013. We strongly encourage the involvement of early career scientists, as well as those with more experience. Scientists interested in volunteering for these opportunities should apply by June 5, 2013.
The National Science Foundation Instrument Development for Biological Research (IDBR) Program supports the development, production, and distribution of novel instrumentation that addresses demonstrated needs in biological research in areas supported by NSF Biology programs. These systems would benefit a broad user community through mass distribution of the technology. Interdisciplinary collaborations are strongly encouraged, as are partnerships with U.S. industries that can facilitate knowledge transfer, commercialization and broad utilization in the research community. Full proposal deadline date: July 31, 2013 and annually thereafter.
Journalist Alaina Levine is looking to interview scientists and engineers who have a degree in physics (BS, MS, or PhD) (including geophysics) whose work focuses on the ocean for an American Physical Society News article. Are you an oceanographer? Do you write simulations of global climate change as it relates to ocean systems? Do you design or work on technology and engineering that enables us to better understand our underwater worlds? If interested, or have suggestions for other sources, please email alaina@alainalevine.com with “ocean physics” in the subject line by June 1.
Don’t forget to email me with any items you’d like to share in future newsletters! You are what makes our deep biosphere community!
Best,
Matt
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Matthew Janicak
Administrative Assistant
Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI)
University of Southern California
3616 Trousdale Pkwy, AHF 209, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0371
Phone: 708-691-9563, Fax: 213-740-2437
Exploring life beneath the seafloor and making transformative discoveries that advance science, benefit society, and inspire people of all ages and origins.