Participants examined the temporal (geology), spatial (ecology), and ethical (philosophy) cross-scale processes that are currently eroding ecosystem resiliency.

During a three-day-long workshop generously supported in part by the Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute, seven natural scientists and five philosophers discussed at length how the accelerated extinction that is currently underway would likely unfold as ecosystems systematically lose resiliency and destabilize into degraded social-ecological states. Read more

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Rebecca Ammerman will study a large and diverse set of ceramics recovered by excavations on the coast of southern Italy.

Two Colgate professors — Rebecca Miller Ammerman, classics, and Randy Fuller, biology — along with seven collaborative partners across the globe, received major research grants from Colgate’s Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute. Both projects, as envisioned by Harvey M. Picker ’36 when he established the institute in 2006, extend the reach and resources of Colgate faculty members so they can tackle scientific problems in creative new ways.

“An Integrated Approach to the Study of Ceramic Technology at Metaponto, a Greek City-state in Southern Italy”
$125,000 for two years to Rebecca Miller Ammerman, Department of the Classics, and Ioannis Iliopoulos, University of Patras, Greece.

“Whole-ecosystem Restoration Through Liming of Acidified Tributary Streams in the Honnedaga Lake Basin in the Adirondack Mountains”
$70,000 for one year to Randy Fuller, Department of Biology; Cliff Kraft and Don Josephson of Cornell University; Colin Beier and Mark Dovciak of SUNY-ESF; and Barry Baldigo and Greg Lawrence of the US Geological Survey.

Learn more at the Colgate news site.

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This sculpture by DeWitt Godfrey, associate professor of art and art history, helped spur a research project about applying mathematical methodologies to art and design.

The Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute recently awarded grants supporting collaborative research teams led by Colgate faculty members who will combine their expertise from across disciplines to address questions in science and mathematics.

“I continue to be impressed by the breadth of inquiry and caliber of proposals from our Colgate faculty,” said Damhnait McHugh, director of the institute.

“The Implications of Maturational Timing and Racial Stressors on the Mental Health of Racial Minority Young Adults”
$70,000 for two years to Janel Benson, Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Brandon Yoo, Arizona State University

“Mathematical Methodologies for Art and Design”
$150,000 for two years to DeWitt Godfrey, Department of Art & Art History; Tom Tucker, Department of Mathematics; Tomaz Pisanski, University of Ljubljiana; and Daniel Bosia, Expedition Engineering, U.K.

Learn more at the Colgate news site.

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Faculty members engaged in interdisciplinary science research through the Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute will host Dr. Paul Williams on campus this April. Dr. Williams is the former medical superintendent of Bwindi Community Hospital in rural Uganda. Read more

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The Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute recently celebrated its 5^th anniversary during Family Weekend, with a panel discussion. Invited faculty members whose collaborative work has been supported by the Institute discussed the challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary research.

Learn more about the history of the institute and its founder.

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Scientists from Australia, Canada and the USA gathered for an interdisciplinary symposium that focused on how the remarkable diversity of marine invertebrate larvae has evolved.

Funded by the Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute and hosted by Damhnait McHugh (Colgate University), Bruno Pernet (California State University, Long Beach), and Andreas Heyland (University of Guelph, Canada), the participants worked to identify key questions in the field, discuss the application of novel approaches and techniques to addressing these questions, and generate new collaborative interactions among scientists who have different areas of expertise but common interests in the evolution of marine invertebrate larvae.

The group of 18  developmental biologists, morphologists, ecologists, evolutionary biologists, geneticists and a philosopher of biology met in the Ho Science Center for three days to work on these issues, and ultimately will publish a manuscript that summarizes the current state of our understanding of larval transitions, the common principles that emerge from across their different fields, and proposals for future research. READ MORE

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“Sociogenomics of circadian rhythms and task behaviors in ants”
$78,476 for two years to Krista Ingram, Department of Biology; Ian Bloch, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and Rudolf Meier, National University of Singapore

“Ecophysiological, Biochemical, and Molecular Mechanisms of Desiccation Tolerance in Ferns”
$188,467 for two years to James (Eddie) Watkins, Department of Biology; Nancy Pruitt, Department of Biology; and Melvin Oliver, USDA-ARS at the University of Missouri.

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A two-day collaborative workshop and public presentation will center around a body of work developed by DeWitt Godfrey, associate professor of art and art history and director of the Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts.

Godfrey intuitively developed loose grid structures that can be folded to produce continuous surfaces. These structures demonstrate certain symmetry properties which will be explored with the mathematical, computational, design and engineering expertise of Tomasz Pisanki and Alen Orbanic (University of Ljubljiana, Slovenia) and Daniel Bosia (ARUP Associates, U.K.).

The investigations of these surfaces and their mathematical properties will allow the team to imagine new lines of artistic and structural research, leading to practical applications in new sculptural objects.

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Picker Interdisciplinary Science Institute-supported research by faculty members Dan Schult (Mathematics), Ken Segall (Physics and Astronomy), and Patrick Crotty (Physics and Astronomy), was recently the subject of an article in Physics World.

The researchers believe that it is possible superconductors could simulate the brain. Read the article online.

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“Investigating the role of Sulf1 in control of stem cell maintenance and activation in sensory organs of frogs and fish”
$64,050 for two years to Jason Meyers, Department of Biology, and Elizabeth Pownall, University of York

“Monitoring Infectious Disease Dynamics in Ugandan Mountain Gorilla, a Critically Endangered Species”
$67,400 for a second year to Frank Frey, Department of Biology; Peter Scull, Department of Geography; and Ellen Kraly, Department of Geography

“Synchronization of Networks of Neurons Using Josephson Junctions”
$78,000 for a second year to Dan Schult, Department of Mathematics; Ken Segall, Department of Physics & Astronomy; and Patrick Crotty, Department of Physics & Astronomy

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