Oak Ridge Today

UT professor to discuss last year’s wildfires on April 13 in Oak Ridge

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Henri Grissino-Mayer

Henri Grissino-Mayer

A University of Tennessee professor will discuss the devastating wildfires in the Southeast in 2016 during a talk in Oak Ridge on April 13.

The featured speaker will be UT professor Henri Grissino-Mayer, a renowned expert on ecosystems, a press release said. He will address the devastating fires, their cause, and what the future may be, a press release said.

The talk is titled “The 2016 Wildfires in the Southeastern U.S.: What Comes Next after Gatlinburg?” It will be presented by the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society.

It’s scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 13, in the UT Arboretum Auditorium at 901 South Illinois Avenue in Oak Ridge.

Grissino-Mayer is a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and director of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Science. [Read more…]

UT Arboretum Society has global warming, climate change program Thursday

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Joanne Logan

Joanne Logan

The University of Tennessee Arboretum Society will present a program on global warming and climate change on Thursday in Oak Ridge.

The program, titled “It’s all in the Timing: Impacts of Global Warming on Ecosystems and Phenology,” is scheduled from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, January 19, in the City Room at Roane State Community College.

It will be presented by Joanne Logan, who is an associate professor at the University of Tennessee and a renowned expert on the subject, a press release said. Logan is an associate professor in the UT Department of Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science. She has studied applied and agricultural climatology for 30 years, and she directs the undergraduate program in environmental and soil siences, the press release said. [Read more…]

Roane State faculty members plan record-breaking underwater stay

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Jessica Fain Diving

Jessica Fain, an adjunct instructor at Roane State Community College, emerges from the moon pool at Jules’ Undersea Lodge. Fain has logged more than 100 hours in underwater habitats and labs. (Photos courtesy RSCC)

HARRIMAN—Two Roane State Community College faculty members plan to live and work under the surface of the sea for 72 days this fall.

While underwater, associate professor of biology Bruce Cantrell and adjunct instructor Jessica Fain will offer the most unique educational experience in the college’s history and raise awareness of issues affecting the oceans. During their stay, Cantrell and Fain will also set a world record for the longest time spent living underwater.

Roane State and the Marine Resources Development Foundation in Key Largo, Fla., are partnering on the Classroom Under the Sea project. Cantrell and Fain plan to start their underwater adventure Oct. 4 and resurface on Dec. 15. They will live in Jules’ Undersea Lodge, which is in the lagoon at the Marine Resources Development Foundation’s facilities.

“Roane State professors have taught in a variety of locations as part of our mission to bring higher education to the communities we serve,” Roane State President Chris Whaley said. “What Bruce and Jessica are planning is certainly new territory. While their project is unique, their expertise, spirit of adventure and passion for teaching are representative of what make community colleges so special.” [Read more…]