Jessica Budke will present “Biodiversity Collections: A Record of the Past and a Resource for the Future” at the Science Forum on Friday.
Her talk will be held from noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Thompson-Boling Arena Café, Rooms C-D. The forty-minute presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer discussion.
The Science Forum is free and open to the public. Attendees may bring their own lunch or purchase it at the café.
Budke’s presentation will explain how modern-day natural history collections are evolving due to cutting-edge research techniques and analytical tools used to leverage the data from millions of plant specimens to study climate change, invasive species, and evolutionary relationships. Attendees will learn how they can join forces with citizen scientists around the world to document the plant and animal life on our planet.
Budke is an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and serves as UT’s Herbarium director. Her research focuses on the development, evolution, and function of plant structures, particularly on the way maternal mosses protect their offspring from threats and dangers
The Science Forum began in 1933 and is one of UT’s oldest organizations. It was designed to provide the general public, students, and other researchers a chance to learn about the latest scientific research.
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CONTACT:
Mark Littmann: (865-974-8756; littmann@utk.edu)
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)