WFU students named 2022 Goldwater Scholars
Congratulations to Landon Bradshaw and John Billos! They have been named 2022 Barry S. Goldwater Scholars for the 2022-23 academic year. Goldwater Scholars have impressive academic and research credentials that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs. The Goldwater Scholarship is the preeminent undergraduate award of its type in these fields. As a...
Tri-Beta Recruitment Spring 2022
Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society Recruitment Beta Beta Beta, the Biology Honor Society on campus, is beginning the process to recruit new members for the 2022 year! What is Tri-Beta?: Beta Beta Beta is an honors society for students, particularly undergraduates, dedicated to improving understanding and appreciation of biological study and extending boundaries...
Sixteen Undergraduates Awarded 2022 Sullivan Scholarships
Sullivan Scholarships are designated “for expanding biological horizons.” Funds for undergraduate travel are provided from an endowment based on a bequest from the late Professor of Biology, Dr. Robert L. Sullivan. Students receiving awards this year will use them during spring break or summer to participate in field courses led by Wake Forest faculty. These courses are Bird...
Pandemic 101
The pandemic of 2020-21 (and 2022) came as no surprise to Wake Forest Biology Teaching Professor Pat Lord (Ph.D. 1986). She has been teaching about pandemics years before the Covid-19 outbreak. Pat Lord’s career has revolved around the teaching and research of virology– her work showed that a pandemic was in our past, present, and...
Former Wake Forest Biology Ph.D. Reviews Challenges Posed by “Forever Compounds” in Science
Awkerman on Challenges Posed by “Forever Compounds” Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in manufactured products as diverse as fast-food containers and fire-suppressant foam have been called “forever chemicals” because of their extreme persistence. What happens when the environment is contaminated by chemicals that resist degradation? What are the impacts on human and ecosystem health?...
Silman Quoted in Scientific American
A piece in Scientific American that covers a new global assessment of tree biodiversity shows that there are roughly 9,200 tree species yet to be discovered, suggesting that the world’s woods may hold more secrets than previously imagined. According to recent research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA on Monday, the...
Amazon Forests Poisoned by Mercury from Illegal Gold Mining
The study, “Amazon Forests Capture High Levels of Atmospheric Mercury Pollution From Artisanal Gold Mining,” appears Jan. 28 in the journal Nature Communications. The research study was led by Jacqueline R. Gerson, a Ph.D. candidate at Duke University. Wake Forest Biology Professor Miles Silman and Wake Forest Research Professor Luis Fernandez mentored Gerson’s work at...
Dr. Miles Silman comments on local Salem Lake biodiversity
Dr. Miles Silman echoed Bobby Hege, the lakes program supervisor for the City of Winston-Salem Recreation and Parks that is overseeing the construction at Salem Lake, in the WFDD article by stating that many Piedmont area lake ecosystems are very resilient when it comes to disturbances because Salem Lake is man-made. If you think about...