Events 2008
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January
24 January 2008. 6–7 p.m. Dr. Richard Huber, Division Chief in Biodiversity and Land Management will present the work of the Sustainable Development Department of the Organization of American States (OSDE) and talk about internship options for Georgetown students. 201A White-Gravenor, GU.
Notes: The OSDE supports activities of the 34 member States of the Americas in implementing policies, projects and partnerships that bolster environmental protection, and help realize the goals of Sustainable Development, reduce poverty and strengthen economic growth. Up to 12 students from different university programs performed as interns at OAS-OSDE last year.
Contact: Prof. Patricia Biermayr at plb9@georgtown.edu.
January 2008. Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Maryland Native Plant Society. TBA. White Oak Library, large meeting room, 11701 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, Maryland.
Note: http://www.mdflora.org/
January 2008. Thursday. 7–9 p.m. TBA. Entomological Society of Washington. Cathy Kerby Room, U.S. Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW and Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C.
January 2008. Tuesday. 7 p.m. TBA. Botanical Society of Washington. Waldo Schmidt Room, National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW, and Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C.
Note: http://www.botsoc.org
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February
12 February 2008. Tuesday. 3–5 p.m. Thomas Brewer, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University.
U.S Climate Change Policy and International Trade Policy Intersections: Issues Needing Innovation for a Rapidly Expanding Agenda. Panelists to be announced. 205 Old North. A Business, Economics and Policy Seminar hosted by the Center for Business and Public Policy. Wine and cheese to follow. RSVP to kkc3@georgetown.edu.
13 February 2008. Wednesday. 7:30 p.m. Gary Krupnick, Head, Plant Conservation Unit, Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. A Natural History Approach to Plant Conservation. Location: Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria, VA.
Note: Open to the public, free.
26 February 2008. Tuesday. 6 p.m. Professor Tony Haymet, Direct, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Vice Chancellor for Marine Science, UC San Diego, CA. The Inaugural Lecture on Global Climate Change. Global Warming: 50 Years of Understanding of Climate Impacts. 205 Old North, GU.
Note: RSVP: CANZ@georgetown.edu by Friday 22 February 2008. Reception to follow. (Cosponsored by the Center for Australian and New Zealand Studies and GU STIA)
February 2008. Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Maryland Native Plant Society. TBA. White Oak Library, large meeting room, 11701 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, Maryland.
Note: http://www.mdflora.org/
February 2008. Thursday. 7–9 p.m. TBA. Entomological Society of Washington. Cathy Kerby Room, U.S. Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW and Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C.
February 2008. Tuesday. 7 p.m. TBA. Botanical Society of Washington. Waldo Schmidt Room, National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW, and Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C.
Note: http://www.botsoc.org
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March
5 March 2008. Wednesday. 7:30 p.m. Alexander E. Lee, AICP, Community Relations Manager and URS Corporation, and Patrick Di Nicola, Environmental Mitigation Manager of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project and RK&K Engineers. Woodrow Wilson Bridge Construction: Can the Builders Be Environmental Stewards? The Friends of Dyke Marsh. Huntley Meadows Park Visitors’ Center, 3701 Lockheed Boulevard, Alexandria, VA 22306.
7 March 2008. Friday. 7 p.m. Timothy Beach, Professor of Geography, Georgetown University. Adaptations to Changing Environments: A Tale of Two Ancient Maya Wetlands in Belize. Sumner School, 1201 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC.
Notes: Refreshments. http://www.pcswdc.org/
March 2008. Tuesday. 7 p.m. TBA. Botanical Society of Washington. Cathy Kerby Seminar Room, CE-340 (202-633-2001), National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW, and Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C.
Note: http://www.botsoc.org
12–22 March 2008. 16th Annual Environmental Festival.
Note: http://www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org
13 March 2008, Thursday, 4:30–6:30 p.m.. Dr. David S. Wilcove. Title to be announced.
WWF-US Headquarters in the Russell Train Conference Center at 1250 24th St. NW, Washington, DC 2003. http://www.worldwildlife.org/fellowships/fuller
_seminars_speakers.cfm
March 2008. Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Maryland Native Plant Society. TBA. White Oak Library, large meeting room, 11701 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, Maryland.
Note: http://www.mdflora.org/
March 2008. Thursday. 7–9 p.m. TBA. Entomological Society of Washington. Cathy Kerby Room, U.S. Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW and Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C.
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April
10 April 2008. Thursday. 6–9 p.m. National Park Service Officials. Restoration of Dyke Marsh. The Friends of Dyke Marsh. Indigo Landing Restaurant, Daingerfield Island (just south of National Airport on the George Washington Memorial Parkway).
Comment: The U. S. National Park Service is beginning the process of restoring Dyke Marsh, an important tidal freshwater wetland on the Potomac River in Mount Vernon that was preserved by the U. S. Congress in 1959. Almost half of the marsh was destroyed by dredging and the dumping of construction and other debris. At this meeting, NPS officials will present needs, goals and other information and receive comments.
April 2008. Tuesday. 7 p.m. TBA. Botanical Society of Washington. Waldo Schmidt Room, National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW, and Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C.
Note: http://www.botsoc.org
April 2008. Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Maryland Native Plant Society. TBA. White Oak Library, large meeting room, 11701 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, Maryland.
Note: http://www.mdflora.org/
April 2008. Thursday. 7–9 p.m. TBA. Entomological Society of Washington. Cathy Kerby Room, U.S. Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW and Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C.
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May
14 May 2008. Wednesday. 7:30 p.m. Dr. Katia Engelhardt, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg, Maryland. What Is Dyke Marsh? Why Should We Restore It? The Friends of Dyke Marsh. Huntley Meadows Park Visitors’ Center, 3701 Lockheed Boulevard, Alexandria, VA 22306.
Comments: Almost half of Dyke Marsh was destroyed by dredging and the dumping of construction and other debris. It is being invaded by non-native, invasive organisms. The National Park Service has determined that the restoration of Dyke Marsh is both “feasible and desirable,” and they have started the process to prepare options for restoration. A team of university scientists compiled available knowledge about this nationally important wetland – plants, animals, invasives, hydrology, geology, history and other aspects. Dr. Katia Engelhardt is the lead scientist in compiling and analyzing what is known about the natural resources of Dyke Marsh. She will summarize this information and explain why Dyke Marsh should be restored and what some of the options might be.
May 2008. Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Maryland Native Plant Society. TBA. White Oak Library, large meeting room, 11701 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, Maryland.
Note: http://www.mdflora.org/
May 2008. Tuesday. 7 p.m. TBA. Botanical Society of Washington. Waldo Schmidt Room, National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW, and Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C.
Note: http://www.botsoc.org
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June
June 2008. Tuesday. 7 p.m. TBA. Botanical Society of Washington. Waldo Schmidt Room, National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW, and Constitution Ave., Washington, D.C.
Note: http://www.botsoc.org
June 2008. Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Maryland Native Plant Society. TBA. White Oak Library, large meeting room, 11701 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, Maryland.
Note: http://www.mdflora.org/
June 2008. Thursday. 7–9 p.m. TBA. Entomological Society of Washington. Cathy Kerby Room, U.S. Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW and Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C.
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July
7 July 2008. Your home. Host or attend a Live Earth House Party (http://www.algore.com/action.html).
Note: On 7 July more than 2 billion people will join together to watch the Live Earth concerts and demonstrate to our leaders that the time has come to solve the climate crisis.
July 2008. Tuesday. 7:30 p.m. Maryland Native Plant Society. TBA. White Oak Library, large meeting room, 11701 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, Maryland.
Note: http://www.mdflora.org/
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September
Wednesday, 17 September 2008. 7.30 p.m. Dyke Marsh and the National Park Service. What’s New in Marsh Management and Policing. Jon G. James, Superintendent, George Washington Memorial Parkway, and Sergeant Frank Barwinczak, United States Park Police. Huntley Meadows Park Visitor Center, 3701 Lockheed Boulevard, Alexandria, VA 22306. The meeting was free and all were welcome. http://www.fodm.org/
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Thursday, 18 September 2008. 5:30 p.m. Global Challenges Discussion Series. Dr. Rita Colwell, Chair of Canon Life Science, Inc. and former Director of the National Science Foundation. New Research Building Auditorium. For more information please contact Jeanette Russo at 202-662-8708.
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Thursday, 18 September 2008. 7:30–9:30 p.m. Crimes Against Nature. Angus Yates’ new powerful, beautifully shot, and very informative documentary about democracy and America's environmental policies. ICC Auditorium.
Bring your friends, but no food or drink allowed.
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Saturday, 20 and Sunday 21 September 2008. Ecological Communities of the Western Shores of the Chesapeake Bay. 2008 Annual Conference. Maryland Native Plant Society. Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Edgewater Maryland. http://www.mdflora.org/events/fall2008/fall2008conference.html
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Monday, 22 September 2008. 4 p.m. Gaston Hall. T. Boon Pickens. The Pickens Plant: A Solution to Reduce America’s Dependence on Foreign Oil. Register at https://www4.georgetown.edu/uis/keybridge/keyform/form.cfm?formID=2697
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Tuesday, 23 September 2008. 2 p.m. Green Gasoline: A Renewable Petroleum Alternative from Plants. Presentation and Panel Discussion on Green Gasoline. 110 Stafford I, NSF Headquarters. The NSF is located at the Ballston Metro stop (orange line), 4201 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington VA. The below room is accessible to the public. All are invited.
“First-generation biofuels have been hampered by a range of factors, from incompatibility and lower energy yields to concerns about their potential impacts on food prices. A new, second-generation biofuel known as cellulosic gasoline, or "green gasoline," is positioned to bridge those gaps and eventually provide gasoline, diesel and jet fuel identical to petroleum counterparts. Derived from non-food plants and agricultural waste, green gasoline has the same performance and functionality as petroleum-derived fuels yet it fits into existing infrastructure.
Three leading experts from academia and industry will highlight how far NSF-supported research has advanced green gasoline technology and their progress in bringing plant-derived gasoline to market. Samples of energy-dense plants, such as switchgrass and poplar, from the U.S. National Arboretum's Power Plants – Farming Energy garden exhibit will also be on display. See the attached agenda for event details.”
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Thursday, 25 September 2008. 12:15 – 1:05 p.m. 262 Reiss. Assessing congruence in genetic structure of Sonoran desert. Dr. Rodney Dyer. Contact Department of Biology, 202-687-6247. http://events.georgetown.edu/events/index.cfm?Action=View&CalendarID=112&EventID=60489
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Friday, 26 September 2008. 8:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. Nanoethics and Nanotechnology
http://events.georgetown.edu/events/index.cfm?Action=View&CalendarID=354&EventID=60835
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Sunday, 28 September 2008. 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve. Edward M. Barrows. Arthropod Appreciation Ambulation. http://www.fodm.org/ Cosponsored with the CFE.
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Monday, 29 September 2008. Global Challenges Discussion Series. For more information, please contact Jeanette Russo at 202-662-8708. http://events.georgetown.edu/events/index.cfm?Action=View&CalendarID=629&EventID=61086
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Tuesday, 30 September 30, 2008. 7:30 p.m. The Case of the Promiscuous Quillworts. Dr. Carl Taylor, NSF. White Oak Library. Maryland Native Plant Society. http://www.mdflora.org/events/monthlymeeting0809.html
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24 May – 13 October 2008. One Planet – Ours! Sustainability for the 22nd Century. Throughout the U.S. Botanic Garden. Washington, D.C. http://www.usbg.gov/education/events/One-Planet-Ours.cfm
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October
Thursday, 2 October 2008. 262 Reiss, GU. 12:15–1:05 p.m. How do honey bees win and lose battles with their parasites? Dr. Jay Evans, USDA.
Western Honey Bees face disease threats ranging from viruses and fungi to mites and beetles. Individual bees resist disease through immunity and other physiological mechanisms, morphological barriers, and behavioral traits. Like other social insects, these bees also invoke group responses to disease such as grooming and other hygienic behaviors. This talk focuses on immune traits in larval bees, and especially traits that help them resist a key bacterial pathogen. I will also discuss hypotheses for recent enigmatic colony declines, labeled ‘Colony Collapse Disorder,’ and present evidence for pathogenic causes behind at least some of these losses. Given genome sequences for bees and many of their chief protagonists, there are great opportunities to use Western Honey Bees as a model system for disease risks as well as individual and social responses to disease.
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Thursday, 2 October 2008. 7–9 p.m. Cathy Kirby Room, US Museum of Natural History. Surrounded by the Six-legged: Insects, Disease, and Civil War Soldiering. Dr. Gary Miller. Entomological Society of Washington. Contact: Dr. Matthew Buffington, matt.buffington@ars.usda.gov.
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Friday, 3 October 2008, 12:30–2:00 p.m. Climate Change and the Rights of Future Generations American Enterprise Institute. Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEI. 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. Registration required. http://www.aei.org/events/eventID.1800/event_detail.asp Contact adam.schmidt@aei.org.
Monday, 6 October 2008. Global Challenges Discussion Series. For more information, please contact Jeanette Russo at 202-662-8708.
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Tuesday, 7 October 2008. 6–8 p.m. Bats: Myth and Reality. Dr. Don Wilson, Smithsonian Institution.
WHERE: The Front Page Restaurant, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA,
Located near Ballston Metro on the ground floor of the NSF building. Parking is available under the NSF building or at Ballston Common Mall.
HOW: 6:00–6:30 p.m. Order food and drinks or all you can eat buffet $6, music provided by InterPlay, 6:30–8:00 p.m. Short presentation, followed by Q&A
No science background required! Free and open to the public. Register online http://www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/registration_forms/event_detail_web2lead.cfm?event_ID=4356s
ABOUT THE TOPIC: Do bats fly in your hair? Are they blind? Do they carry rabies? Are they hateful little creatures of the night, or charismatic critters, critical to the functioning of ecosystems around the world? Find out the truth about bats from the Author of “Bats in Question”, who will discuss these and other interesting facts about bats worldwide. Poorly known and routinely misunderstood, bats need friends, and this is your chance to learn more about them and their importance.
ABOUT THE CONCEPT: Café Scientifique flourished first in the U.K. (see http://www.cafescientifique.org) as a way for the public and scientists to mingle and discuss science issues in an informal setting. At least 35 cafés now exist in the U.S.
ABOUT THIS CAFÉ: The Ballston Science and Technology Alliance, a nonprofit organization, is the sponsor of Café Scientifique Arlington. Since April 2006, the goal of Café Scientifique has been to make science more accessible and accountable by featuring speakers whose expertise span the sciences and who can talk in plain English. Café is generally held each month on the first Tuesday, at the Front Page in Arlington.
COMING NEXT MONTH: Panel Discussion on “New Administration – What will be the role of Science and Technology?” Moderator – Dr. Chris Hill, GMU, Panelists: Al Teich, AAAS; Michael Waring, University of Michigan; and Richard Van Atta, Institute for Defense Analysis.
For more information contact Kaye Breen, kbreen@arlingtonva.us or visit www.arlingtonvirginiausa.com/bsta
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Tuesday, 7 October 2008. 6 p.m. Tour of One Planet - Ours! at the US Botanic Garden Botanical Society of Washington. http://www.botsoc.org/
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Wednesday, 8 October 2008. 11:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. GU’s First Green Fair. Southwest Quadrangle, GU. Food, prizes, educational tables, and more! Win a prize from the CFE! Contact Ms. Anne Eisele at 202-687-7382. (Cosponsored with the CFE)
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Thursday, 9 October 2008. 7:30 pm. A preview screening and discussion of Part III of Ross Spears's four-hour documentary series, Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People (2009). New South Film Screening Classroom. The American Studies Program will hold the screening. The series will air on PBS in spring 2009. The Program encourages all interested members of the GU Community to join it for this conversation about Appalachia, about social and environmental history, and about documentary as a method for doing historical work.
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Thursday, 16 October 2008. 12–5 p.m., Green Corps interviews. Saxby’s Coffee House, 35th and O Streets, NW.
7 p.m. Green Corps information session with Green Corps Fellow and former Forest Ecology student John Stewart (GU College Class of 2008). Village C East Common Room, 1st floor. http://www.greencorps.org/. John with Senator McCain and Governor Palin on 9 October 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XW2kGXtJ-PA.
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Monday, 20 October 2008. Global Challenges Discussion Series. Contact: Jeanette Russo at 202-662-8708.
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Tuesday, 21 October 21 2008. 3:30–5:30 p.m. Inaugural colloquium “National and Global Health Law.” Panel discussion sponsored by the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown Law School, Hotung Building, Room 2001, 600 New Jersey Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001. The session is free, open to the public, with a brief reception to follow. http://www.law.georgetown.edu/oneillinstitute/events/index.html
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Monday, 27 October 2008. Global Challenges Discussion Series. Contact: Jeanette Russo at 202-662-8708.
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Tuesday, 28 October 2008. 7:30 p.m. Mr. Richard Murray, Arborist. Roots: The Underground Business End of the Tree System. Maryland Native Plant Society. White Oak Library, MD. http://www.mdflora.org/events/monthlymeeting0810.html
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Friday, 31 October 2008. 3:15 p.m. Dr. Mark Sagoff. Director, Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy. University of Maryland. Who is the Invader? Alien Species, Property, and the Environment. 204 New North, GU. Open to the public. (Sponsored by the GU Department of Philosophy)
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November
Saturday, 1 November 2008. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Ecology and conservation of Parrots and Peruvian parrot party. Dr. Don Brightsmith. Director of the Tambopata Macaw Project. The talk is at Fairlington Presbyterian Church, 3846 King St., Alexandria, VA. Information: http://www.phoenixlanding.org/seminars.htm.
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Thursday, 6 November 2008, 12:15–1:05 p.m. Salt Marsh Predators Retreat from Abiotic Disturbance. Mr. Danny Lewis, Graduate Research Assistant (Ph.D. student), Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. 262 Reiss. Mr. Lewis earned his MS in Mathematics from Portland State University and received the Teaching Achievement Award from the University of Maryland for the 2000–2001 and 2001–2002 academic years. His research focuses on the effects of physical disturbance on the decoupling of predator-prey interactions. Open to the public.
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Thursday, 6 November 2008, 7 p.m. Pollinator Declines around the Globe and the Future of Honey Bees in the U.S. Dr. Jeff Pettis, USDA-ARS Bee Reserve Lab. Cathy Kerby Room, U.S. Museum of Natural History, 10th Street, NW and Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. For more information, please contact WES President Gary Hevel at hevelg@si.edu. Open to the public.
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Friday, 14 November, 3:15–4:30 p.m., 262 Reiss Science Center. Dr. Arthur V. Evans. What’s Bugging You? Presentation and book signing. Daring refreshments! (Cosponsors are the Center for the Environment; Department of Art and Art History; Department of Biology; and the GU Bookstore) Open to the public.
Join entomologist, author, and photographer Dr. Art Evans for an engaging and colorful behind the scenes look at the production of his latest books, National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America (Sterling, 2007) and What’s Bugging You? A Fond Look at the Animals We Love to Hate (University of Virginia Press, 2008). The latter work is a collection of essays from his popular column in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Art will also offer a sneak peak at two of his next book projects Introduction to Insects of Virginia and the Carolinas (University of Virginia Press) and Beetles of Eastern North America (Princeton University Press).
Art is a native of southern California. After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Cal State Long Beach, Art moved to South Africa where he earned his Doctorate of Science in entomology in 1988 at the University of Pretoria. He returned to California and in 1989 became the Director of the Ralph M. Parsons Insect Zoo at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, a post he held until January of 2000. For nearly 9 years Art has lived in Richmond, Virginia, working as an independent researcher, freelance writer, and photographer, popularizing insects and spiders in books and magazines. He is also the author of the beautiful and artistic An Inordinate Fondness for Beetles (with Charles Bellamy) and Introduction to California Beetles and Field Guide to Beetles of California (both with James Hogue). All three of these titles are published by the University of California Press.
Art is a Research Associate in the Department of Entomology, Smithsonian Institution; Department of Recent Invertebrates, Virginia Natural History Museum; and Life Sciences Department, Virginia Commonwealth University.
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Wednesday, 19 November 2008, 7:30 p.m. Membership Meeting & Film (Restoring Dyke Marsh), which includes GU research in Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve. The Friends of Dyke Marsh. Huntley Meadows Park Visitors’ Center, 3701 Lockheed Boulevard, Alexandria, VA 22306. For more information, please see http://www.fodm.org/. Open to the public.
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December
Friday, 5 December 2008. 6–9 p.m. George Washington University, Room 113, 1957 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Celebrating Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve (DMWP): Art, Science, and Conservation. Introduction by Ms. Glenda Booth (President, Friends of Dyke Marsh), plant photo essay by Professor Elizabeth F. Wells (George Washington University), overview of biodiversity and arthropod research in DMWP by Professor Edward M. Barrows (Georgetown University), art by Mrs. Maria (Mania) Panayotopoulos, and the thought-provoking film On the Edge: The Potomac River, Dyke Marsh (2006, 43 minutes). Cosponsors are Friends of Dyke Marsh, George Washington University BiSc 158 (Field Botany) and Departement of Biological Sciences, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Afentakis, and the Georgetown University Center for the Environment and Department of Biology. Notes: The nearest Metro station is GWU/Foggy Bottom (at 23rd Street and Eye Street, N.W.). Street parking should be available though paying a meter is required until 6:30 p.m. Contacts are Dr. Elizabeth Wells, efwells@gwu.edu; Ms. Glenda Booth, gbooth123@aol.com; and Dr. Edd Barrows, barrowse@georgetown.edu. Light refreshments. Open to the public!
The Preserve is near Alexandria, VA. Many people enjoy the irreplaceable Preserve for birding, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, scientific study, etc. The GU Laboratory of Entomology and Biodiversity has been studying the biota of the Preserve since 1996 (http://biodiversity.georgetown.edu/files/informationfile.cfm?title=dykemarshintro). Friends of Dyke Marsh (http://www.fodm.org/), the National Park Service, and others are conserving the Preserve.
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