Do Fish Feel Pain? Afraid So, Says Researcher Coming to Lecture Nov. 16 at the College

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Do fish feel pain? And does it matter? These are the questions Victoria Braithwaite, a researcher at Pennsylvania State University, will address in a lecture at Washington College on Wednesday, November 16. Part of the McLain Lecture Series, the talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall, Toll Science Center, 300 Washington Avenue. A book signing will follow in the McLain Atrium.

Braithwaite, Associate Director and Professor of Fisheries and Biology at the Penn State Institute of the Neurosciences, researches the evolution of animal cognition with a focus on fish learning, perception, and memory. In her 2010 book Do Fish Feel Pain? ( Oxford University Press), she discusses the ethical questions raised by current fishing practices. According to Braithwaite, fish are not the simple-brained creatures most of us perceive them to be, but are instead complex animals with accurate memories, stress responses, and physiological similarities with other vertebrates—even humans.

In light of recent scientific evidence showing that fish have specialized pain receptors, she argues that the kinds of protective measures in place for other animals should be extended to fish.

Braithwaite’s lecture is sponsored by the McLain Program in Environmental Studies and the campus chapter of Sigma Xi, a scientific-research honor society. The Joseph H. McLain ’37 Program in Environmental Studies was established in 1990 to recognize and augment study in the fields of aquatic and environmental studies.

–30–

Smithsonian Scientist to Share Research on Harmful Nutrient Flows into the Bay

CHESTERTOWN, MD—A Smithsonian scientist who studies harmful nutrient flows into the Chesapeake Bay will talk about his research when he visits Washington College Thursday, September 15. Thomas Jordan, Ph.D., senior scientist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC), will lecture at 7:30 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall, John S. Toll Science Center, on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

The title of Jordan’s talk is “Nutrient Overload to Chesapeake Bay: Where It Comes From, and Ways to Control It.” Presented by the Joseph H. McLain Program in Environmental Studies and the Washington College Chapter of Sigma Xi, the event is free and open to the public.

Jordan works in SERC’s Nutrient Lab, where he and colleagues study the flows of nitrogen and phosphorus in ecosystems, the effects of human-induced nutrient enrichment on marine life and water quality, and ways of removing excess nutrients. Since the early 1970s, the lab has monitored discharges from watersheds of the Rhode River, in Anne Arundel County. In the 1990s, it expanded its research to encompass the entire Chesapeake Bay basin, comparing discharges from hundreds of watersheds. SERC scientists explore the effects of geological differences and agricultural and urban land uses, as well as the restorative potential of riparian forests and wetlands.

Photo, bottom: Dr. Thomas Jordan inspects an automated monitor that records flow and samples water flowing in and out of a restored wetland. The wetland removes nutrients from the runoff it receives from nearby cornfields. Photo courtesy of SERC.

Symposium Brings Top Chemists to WC to Focus on the Role of Metal Ions in Health

CHESTERTOWN—Washington College continues its celebration of the 2011 International Year of Chemistry Tuesday, April 5 with a symposium on the effects of metal ions on human health. Titled “Why Copper and Iron? Metal Ions We Need for Good Health,” the panel features presentations by a trio of award-winning chemists: Valeria C. Culotta, Caryn E. Outten, and Rosette Roat-Malone. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 5 p.m. in Decker Theatre, the Daniel Z. Gibson Center for the Arts, on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

Culotta, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, studies the role of metal ions and oxygen radicals in biology and disease. Metal ions such as copper, iron and manganese are not only trace nutrients but can be quite toxic. One mechanism of toxicity is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which have been implicated not only in aging but also in numerous human disorders from neurodegeneration to cancer. Culotta has shown that cells in higher organisms have evolved with “metal-trafficking pathways” that guide each metal to its proper destination in the cell. She also has discovered numerous genes and proteins for metal trafficking.

Outten, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of South Carolina, works in the complementary fields of biochemistry and bioinorganic chemistry with a focus on the role of iron in biological systems. She worked with Culotta at Johns Hopkins as a post-doctoral fellow (2001-2005) and began her career at USC with a Transition to Independent Position (TIP) Award from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. TIP awards recognize talented new investigators who have demonstrated an ability to improve the scientific community’s understanding of the problems and mechanisms associated with exposure to environmental agents. In 2010, she received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECAS), the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers.

Roat-Malone, adjunct professor of chemistry at Washington College, has written two editions of the textbook Bioinorganic Chemistry: A Short Course ( 2^nd edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2007). The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) of the American Chemical Society have supported her research in the development and testing of platinum coordination compounds as anticancer agents. She serves as a reviewer for NSF research grant applications and for the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship program. Through an NSF-funded Visiting Professorship for Women Award, she taught at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and completed research at Leiden University, the Netherlands. She will serve as moderator for the symposium and provide a “Primer on Metal Ions.”

The April 5 symposium is sponsored by the William James Forum and the Washington College Chapter of Sigma Xi. Following the presentations, the Washington College Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Theta of Maryland will host a reception in the Underwood Lobby.

The William James Forum was founded in 1963 by the late Washington College professor of philosophy and religion Peter F. Tapke to honor the multitalented nineteenth century philosopher William James, who was also an artist, explorer, medical doctor, psychologist, and theologian. The Forum considers issues from any field of inquiry that have practical relevance to life and decision-making.

Sigma Xi, the international honor society of science and engineering, was founded in 1886 at Cornell University to reward excellence in scientific research and to encourage a sense of companionship and cooperation among scientists in all fields. Sigma Xi has nearly 60,000 members in more than 500 chapters worldwide. The Washington College Chapter was founded in 2001.

Sigma Xi Honors Washington College Chapter For Excellence In Science Programming

Chestertown, MD, December 3, 2002 — Washington College's chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, has received both a Chapter of Excellence Award and a Chapter Program Award from the national offices of Sigma Xi, based in Research Triangle, NC. The awards were presented during the second Assembly of Delegates at Sigma Xi's Annual Meeting, November 16, 2002, in Galveston, TX. Alumna Kouri Coleman Miller '96, a physics major now working with NASA's Space Shuttle, accepted the awards on behalf of the College at the November ceremony.
Chapter of Excellence Awards are awarded to chapters for overall outstanding educational programming—such as symposia, speaker series and other public events—during the past fiscal year. Washington College was honored for two science outreach programs developed by its Psychology and Chemistry Departments respectively to serve area secondary and high school students: “Neuroscience in Schools” and “Why Chemistry is Fun.”
Program Awards are awarded to chapters that have organized or hosted a single, outstanding program during the past year. The College's Sigma Xi chapter was honored for its symposium “Barriers to and Opportunities for Women in Science,” whose keynote speaker was Dr. Rita Colwell, Director of the National Science Foundation, and the coordinated “Women in Science” lecture series that featured prestigious women scientists across diverse fields.
Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi is a non-profit membership society of more than 80,000 scientists and engineers elected to the Society because of their research achievements or potential. In addition to publishing the journal American Scientist, Sigma Xi awards annual grants to promising young researchers, holds forums on critical issues at the intersection of science and society, and sponsors a variety of programs supporting science and engineering, science education, science policy, and the public understanding of science.
The Washington College Sigma Xi chapter was officially installed in April 2001. The affiliation allows faculty and students to advance scientific education and research through grants; to fund faculty and student projects, travel awards and conferences; and to sponsor visiting scientists and collaborative research.

Burkholder to Address Pfiesteria and Coastal Water Quality Issues

Chestertown, MD, November 30, 2001 — The McLain Program in Environmental Studies and the Washington College Chapter of Sigma Xi, as part of the Women In Science Lecture Series, present PFIESTERIA AND OTHER COASTAL WATER QUALITY ISSUES, a lecture by Joann M. Burkholder, Ph.D., on Wednesday, December 5, 2001, at 5 p.m. in the Hynson Lounge. The event is free at the public is invited to attend.

Burkholder is a professor of botany and director of North Carolina State University's Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology. Her research focuses on the nutritional ecology of algae, dinoflagellates, and aquatic angiosperms in relation to the impact that harmful algal blooms have on freshwater and marine coastal ecosystem functioning.

Through the Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology, Burkholder has studied the toxic dinoflagellate, Pfiesteria piscicida, which has been implicated as the primary causative agent of major fish kills and fish disease events in North Carolina estuaries, coastal areas and aquaculture operations. Pfiesteria and closely related toxic species have also been confirmed in fish kill/disease areas and aquaculture facilities outside North Carolina, from the Chesapeake Bay to the Gulf Coast. According to research Pfiesteria has been in this region for thousands of years as a nontoxic predator on other organisms (bacteria, algae, small animals), but experiments in the lab and the field indicate that human influences such as animal waste and nutrient run-off from farming have slowly shifted the environment to encourage Pfiesteria's fish-killing activity.

Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, is a non-profit membership society of more than 80,000 scientists and engineers elected to the Society because of their research achievements or potential. Sigma Xi awards annual grants to promising young researchers, holds forums on critical issues at the intersection of science and society, and sponsors a variety of programs supporting honor in science and engineering, science education, science policy and the public understanding of science. This affiliation allows Washington College faculty and students to advance scientific education and research through grants, travel awards, conferences, and visiting scientists.

Sigma XI Hosts Panel Discussion on Women in Science October 17

Chestertown, MD, October 3, 2001 — The Washington College Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, presents the panel discussion, "Barriers to and Opportunities for Women in Science," on Wednesday, October 17, 2001, at 4:30 p.m. in the College's Tawes Theater, Gibson Performing Arts Center. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The panel–representing women in science from government, academia and industry–will feature Rita Colwell, Director of the National Science Foundation, as lead speaker and moderator, accompanied by Dr. Mary Lou Soffa, Professor of Computer Science at University of Pittsburgh and Co-Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research, and Deborah Grubbe, P.E., Corporate Director for Safety and Health at DuPont and past director of DuPont Engineering's 700 person engineering technology organization. The panel will discuss the issues, obstacles and opportunities unique to women developing careers in science, medicine, technology and engineering.

Washington College currently offers bachelor degrees in the scientific fields of biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science, environmental studies, anthropology and sociology, economics, and psychology, as well as a master of arts degree in psychology. More than 70 percent of the science degrees at Washington College have been granted to women in recent years.

"Traditionally there have been obstacles to women pursuing careers in science related professions," said Leslie Sherman, Clare Boothe Luce professor of chemistry at the College. "This forum will allow our students to ask women with highly successful careers in the sciences how they have been able to overcome these obstacles, what barriers to women still need to be addressed, and what opportunities are available today."

The Women in Science event is sponsored by the Washington College chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society, a non-profit membership society of more than 80,000 scientists and engineers supporting excellence in scientific research, education, science policy, and the public understanding of science.

Additional Link:

Read Dr. Rita Colwell's Remarks From Her Visit to Washington College

College Establishes Sigma Xi Chapter

Society Supports Excellence, Opportunities for Scientific Research and Education

Chestertown, MD, April 17, 2001 — Washington College has been granted a charter to establish a new chapter of Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society. The chapter received its charter during an installation ceremony held Tuesday, April 10, 2001 in the College's Casey Academic Center Forum.

"The primary benefits of our Sigma Xi affiliation will be an increased availability of research grant money for faculty and student projects, and opportunity for a greater exchange of ideas and for interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers from other institutions," said Dr. Michael Kerchner, an associate professor in the College's Psychology Department and first president of the newly formed chapter.

Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi is a non-profit membership society of more than 80,000 scientists and engineers elected to the Society because of their research achievements or potential. In addition to publishing the journal American Scientist, Sigma Xi awards annual grants to promising young researchers, holds forums on critical issues at the intersection of science and society, and sponsors a variety of programs supporting honor in science and engineering, science education, science policy and the public understanding of science. The affiliation allows Washington College faculty and students to advance scientific education and research through grants, travel awards, conferences, and visiting scientists.

For the last five years, Dr. Kerchner has been part of a core of faculty working to bring Sigma Xi to the College. "There has been a dedicated core of Washington College faculty, primarily in the natural sciences, working to establish this chapter," he said. "Their three-year plan for the chapter that includes a schedule of events and speakers, membership recruitment strategies, professional development plans, community outreach initiatives, and programs to foster research opportunities for undergraduates demonstrates our commitment to Sigma Xi's ideals."

Officers serving for 2001-2002 will be Michael Kerchner, president; assistant professor of biology Martin Connaughton, president-elect; assistant professor of biology Doug Darnowski, chapter secretary; and assistant professor of chemistry Leslie Sherman, treasurer. For more information on Sigma Xi, visit www.sigmaxi.org.

Oliver Sacks to Speak on Creativity and the Brain

Chestertown, MD, February 7, 2001 — Oliver Sacks, neurologist and best-selling author ofThe Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, will speak on "Creativity and the Brain" Wednesday, March 21, 2001 at 4:30 p.m. in Washington College's Gibson Performing Arts Center, Tawes Theatre. A book signing in the Casey Academic Center Gallery will follow the presentation.

Sacks is best known for his explorations of the borderlands of neurological experience, examining the ways in which the whole person adapts to different neurological dysfunctions. His 1985 bestseller, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, brought his unique work to the public eye, with a collection of case histories that demonstrated the extremes of brain dysfunction and the human struggle to overcome psychological fate. Sacks' earlier work on the victims of an epidemic of sleeping sickness, Awakenings, became the inspiration for the 1990 Hollywood movie of the same name starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams.

Born in London, Sacks obtained his medical degree from Oxford University in 1958. He moved to the United States in the early 1960s and has lived in New York City since 1965, where he is a clinical professor of neurology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a consultant neurologist to the Little Sisters of the Poor and Beth Abraham Hospital. His recent books include An Anthropologist on Mars (Knopf, 1995) and The Island of the Colorblind (Knopf, 1996).

The presentation is part of the Second Annual Jesse Ball duPont Behavioral Neuroscience Speaker Series sponsored by the Jesse Ball duPont Fund, the Gibson-Wagner Fund, the Washington College Department of Psychology and the Washington College Chapter of the Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. The event is free and open to the public.

Lasers Light Up Atmospheric Knowledge

Chestertown, MD — How light detection and ranging, known as Lidar, is changing scientific knowledge of Earth’s atmosphere will be the subject of a talk by Thomas D. Wilkerson, Utah State University physics professor. His talk "Laser Atmospheric Remote Sensing," will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 8 in Litrenta Lecture Hall on the campus of Washington College. It is free and open to the public.

Wilkerson will describe lidar research and development programs in middle atmosphere measurements and tropospheric cloud tracking. His talk, sponsored by the Washington College Department of Physics and the College chapter of Sigma Xi, is free and open to the public. For directions and information, please call 410-778-7111.