Joint EEB/oSTEM Seminar

The lab was thrilled to host a special set of seminars by Prof Karen Warkentin this week. The special seminars were co-organized by EEB and oSTEM, Brown's chapter of the national non-profit professional society that aims to empower LGBTQIA+ folks working in STEM fields. At Brown, 24% of undergraduates and 18% of graduate students reported that they identified as LGBTQ+, according to the 2018 climate survey. 

The EEB-hosted seminar focused on adaptive variation in hatching time by tropical frogs -- "Proximate and ultimate causes of plastic hatching timing" -- a classic system in evolutionary ecology, and a connection to our lab's research roots in the wet tropics of Central America.

The oSTEM-hosted seminar told -- in part -- Prof Warkentin's personal story and perspective on the value of diversity in STEM. It was modeled after the Opening Plenary at the 2019 ESA meeting, and entitled "Different people ask different questions: A queer perspective on studying diversity in life history and behavior." Videos of the ESA plenary and related talks can be viewed here.

Both seminars were attended by a broad cross-section of folks at Brown. Thank you, Prof Warkentin, for making the visit! Thank you, oSTEM, for partnering with our group and EEB to make this special visit such a success!