Three short, field courses will be taught at the Armitage Education Center at the University of Kansas Field Station this summer. Courses are 'Introduction to Field Entomology', 'Introduction to Kansas Fishes', and 'Introduction to Field Botany'. These courses are open to undergraduate, graduate, and nondegree-seeking students, including individuals taking a class for personal enrichment but not to obtain a degree. Complete course information.

Six students receive awards from the KU Field Station small grants program to support research at the field station this summer.

KU researcher Jenny Archibald recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to explore definitions of species and better delimit the ways that human beings characterize other organisms. Dr. Archibald conducts part of her research at the University of Kansas Field Station. Read story here.

Kathy Roccaforte, Ph.D. student working with Bryan Foster, has received word that she has won an award from Prairie Biotic Research to further supplement her research on plant-pollinator networks. The award will provide funding for her project titled “Investigating the Impacts of Land Use Intensification and Restoration Efforts on the Structure of Tallgrass Prairie Plant-Pollinator Networks.”

Prairie Biotic Research Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin is a non-profit corporation devoted to basic field biological research in prairies and savannas.

The Native Medicinal Plant Research Program is hiring a full-time Botanist/Ecologist for the research program and lab run by Dr. Kelly Kindscher. The application deadline is March 31, 2013. See full announcement here.

David Hall and Kathy Roccaforte, Ph.D. students working with Bryan Foster, have each received notice that their research proposals have been chosen for a $1,000 J. E. Weaver Grant from The Nature Conservancy.

The University of Kansas Field Station, a unit of the Kansas Biological Survey, has funding available for small grants ($300-$500) to encourage undergraduate and graduate student research at our field station during 2013. Applications are due April 12, 2013. Click here for details.

The Native Medicinal Plant Research Program -- a collaboration between the Kansas Biological Survey and the KU Department of Medicinal Chemistry -- will receive three years of funding through KU's Strategic Initiative Grant program. The grant program, which is designed to invest in promising research projects, will provide support for researchers to continue efforts aimed at discovering and commercializing plant-based drugs and other therapies for the prevention and treatment of several forms of cancer.

Read the story here.

LAWRENCE — A grim hazard of climate change is that “positive feedbacks” will augment the warming induced by human activities. One such a positive feedback loop that could spiral out of control lies directly underfoot. When microorganisms in the soil break down organic matter like dead plants, they also emit heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. The warmer the world gets, the busier the microorganisms in many places could become, producing relatively more greenhouse gases. Read more here.

One of the ongoing research projects taking place at the KU Field Station is highlighted in the KU Today Campus Newsletter. Read about the Feedstock to Tailpipe Initiative here.