Environmental symposium scheduled for Nov. 10

Author: William G. Gilroy

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The third annual Symposium on Notre Dame Environmental Education and Research (NDEER) will be held Nov. 10 (Wednesday) from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in McKenna Hall Auditorium. Sponsored by the Center for Environmental Science and Technology (CEST) and the Graduate School, the symposium is being held this year in cooperation with the “Faith, Ethics and the Environment” conference sponsored by the Reilly Center for Science, Technology and Values.

“The purpose of the symposium is to highlight the depth and diversity of environmental research occurring throughout the University,” said Patricia A. Maurice, professor of civil engineering and geological sciences and director of CEST. “The first year we held NDEER, it became apparent that University efforts relating to environmental issues touched more than engineering or science faculty. Since that time we have been able to develop closer ties among a large, multidisciplinary group of faculty across campus, and we are looking forward to this years discussions.”

The symposiums keynote speaker is James Fredrickson, senior staff scientist and laboratory fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who will deliver a talk titled “Microbial Metal Reduction: Genomics to Geochemistry.” Other activities will include faculty presentations, a panel discussion on interdisciplinary environmental education efforts at the University, and a student poster session.

Fredrickson specializes in microbial ecology and environmental microbiology. His research focuses on subsurface microbiology and biogeochemistry, specifically the microbial ecology and biochemistry of geologically diverse subsurface environments.

Fredrickson also serves as a coordinator in the U.S. Department of Energys Subsurface Science Program.

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