Conference registration is now open. Early bird registration is available until April 1st, 2019 and abstracts in the form of poster or oral presentations will be accepted until March 15th, 2019.
Defining the Intersection of Geology, Geochemistry and Microbiology in Hydrothermal Environments
Dr. Daniel Colman
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Montana State University
Hydrothermal systems provide excellent model systems to deconvolute the dynamic interplay between geology and geochemistry and the ecology and evolution of microorganisms. Extensive geochemical variation exists in hydrothermal systems that sets the stage for an incredible amount of microbial taxonomic and functional biodiversity. Further, microorganisms inhabiting hydrothermal systems can have profound roles in shaping the geochemistry of their environments through geo-biological feedbacks resulting from biological transformations of inorganic and organic chemical constituents.
Vital signs in the low energy microbial world: linking physiology to ecosystem function
Dr. Jacqueline Goordial
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, East Boothbay, Maine
Microorganisms are the most diverse and abundant lifeforms on Earth, but less than 1% have been cultured in the laboratory for study. Thus, our knowledge of the metabolic potential of the vast majority of microorganisms is based primarily on genomic and metagenomic sequencing. Compounding these unknowns is evidence that bacteria commonly exist in prolonged states of low metabolic activity or non-growth states in environmental settings. This gap in our knowledge necessitates uniting physiology and molecular microbiology to understand the roles that bacterial communities play in biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem function.
Tulu Kapi Gold Deposit, Western Ethiopian Shield: Structural Framework, U-Pb Zircon Geochronology and Paragenesis
A Structural and Stratigraphic study in Liuyuan Area, southern Beishan Orogenic Collage, Northwest China
The traditional university science curriculum was designed to train specialists in specific disciplines. However, in universities all over the world, science students are going into increasingly diverse careers and the current model does not fit their needs. Advances in technology also make certain modes of learning obsolete.
Our professors had such a great time in Toronto last year, they insisted on a second round!
One again we're bringing a little bit of the Faculty of Science to Toronto for some casual academic conversations. Pull up a chair, have a drink and a few munchies on us, and engage in some spirited discussions with various science faculty members.
Grab your favourite afternoon drink, cozy up in your favourite chair and spend an hour with some truly inspirational women. Whether you'd like to just listen, or engage over text in the online chat forum, this virtual high tea social will be a lively commentary and round-table discussion about why women choose to challenge.