Tufte and Kennedy each received a Partners in Science Program grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust. The goal of this program is to provide high school teachers with opportunities to work with college faculty members at the cutting edge of science and revitalize their teaching.

Tufte will work with Jo Ann Wadkins, a science teacher at Lincoln High School, for the next two summers in the Department of Physics. Their research, titled “Observational Investigations of Short-Period Eclipsing Binary Stars,” will be shared at two national Partners in Science conferences at the end of each summer.

Kennedy will partner with Eileen Oppelt, a science teacher at West Linn High School. Their research, “Examining Biogeographic Patterns in the Frankia-Alnus rubra Symbiosis,” will be conducted in the Department of Biology. Oppelt will also share the results of the joint research at Partners in Science conferences.

The Murdock Trust provides grants in five states of the Pacific Northwest to organizations that aim to strengthen the region’s educational base in sustainable ways.

With coverage this month in Scientific American and New Scientist, as well as several international newspapers, Autumn’s research has extended its global reach. On Saturday, October 25, Autumn will be featured on an episode of Weird Connections on The Science Channel.

Autumn’s research has already crisscrossed the globe, appearing on five continents in hundreds of newspapers, journals, books, television programs, and Internet articles. Recently, Autumn’s research has been used as a stepping stone in the invention of a strong and sticky adhesive similar to a gecko’s feet, discovered by researchers at U.C. Berkeley. Explore this interactive map of some major media placements from recent years to discover the international impact of Autumn’s work.

Lochner and Scalettar coauthored a study on the postsynaptic colocalization of neuromodulatory proteins with five undergraduate students (Conor Jacobs ‘09, Mariya Chavarha ‘08, Kevin McAllister ‘08, Erika Spangler ‘07, Linnaea Schuttner ‘06) that was featured on the cover of the September issue of Developmental Neurobiology. Titled “Efficient Copackaging and Cotransport Yields Postsynaptic Colocalization of Neuromodulators Associated with Synaptic Plasticity,” their collaborative work shows how the proteins studied are known to enhance synaptic communication in the hippocampus. This research was supported by grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health and by the Rogers Summer Research Program.

Developmental Neurobiology publishes research primarily on development and plasticity in the nervous system, with an emphasis on experimental work.

Read more about Lochner and Scalettar’s collaborative research in The Chronicle.

This April, Reiness received a $42,000 grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to support his research in neuroscience. Reiness’ project is titled “Mechanism of Export of Chicken Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor.”

Kennedy received a $58,060 grant from the National Science Foundation for his project, “Collaborative Research: Dispersal Limitation as a Primary Factor in Determining Ectomycorrhizal Community Structure.” Peter will be working with Lewis & Clark undergraduates and colleagues from the University of California-Berkeley.

The San Francisco Chronicle (San Francisco, Calif.) Gecko research a sticky subject

Portland Tribune (Portland, Ore.): Q & A with Greta Binford

During the fall semester, Hermann received a fourth $7,200 supplement from the National Science Foundation on his existing grant, “Genetic and Molecular Analysis of Lysosome Assembly and Stability in C. Elegans.”

Duncan published an article in the October issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. The article is titled “Convergent setal morphology in sand-covering spiders suggests a design principle for particle capture.”

New Scientist (Oxford, England): Gecko’s gravity-defying trick explained