Kasey Krouse, Knoxville’s first urban forester, will talk about the strategies have been used to improve the city’s tree canopy at Friday’s Science Forum at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The Science Forum is a weekly brown-bag lunch series that allows professors and area scientists to discuss their research with the general public in a conversational presentation.
The presentations begin at noon on Fridays in Room C-D of Thompson-Boling Arena. Attendees can bring lunch or purchase it at the arena. Each presentation is forty minutes long and is followed by a question-and-answer session. Science Forum presentations are free and open to the public.
“Urban forests of Tennessee are experiencing new demands and pressures as interest grows in greenways, heat islands, and storm water control,” states the Tennessee Department of Agriculture website. “Encroachment by development, invasions of insects like emerald ash borer, diseases such as thousand cankers disease of walnut, invasive plants like honeysuckle and privet, and problems with soil compaction threaten the health and vitality of urban forests.”
Future Science Forums will feature
- November 1: Gerry Dinkins, curator of malacology and natural history at the McClung Museum, discussing “Rediscovery of the Nearly Extinct Alabama Lampmussel in the Emory River”
- November 8: Devin White, senior research scientist of geocomputation at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and assistant professor of anthropology, discussing “Archaeological Discoveries from Space”
- November 15: Phil Colclough, director of animal collections and conservation at Knoxville Zoological Gardens, discussing “Eastern Hellbender Conservation and the New Role of Zoos”
- November 22: Nathan Schmidt, assistant professor of microbiology, discussing “Infection with the Malaria Parasite: Malaria Is Only Half the Problem”
The Science Forum is sponsored by the UT Office of Research and Quest, an initiative to raise awareness of the research, scholarship, and creative activity happening on campus. For more information, visit the Science Forum website.
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C O N T A C T :
Amanda Womac (Amanda@HellbenderPress.org)
Mark Littmann (865-974-8156, littmann@utk.edu)
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)