March 9, 2006

Research News

Mapping the Genome of Nitrobacter winogradskyi - A team from Oregon State University and their colleagues has mapped the genome of a bacterium that plays a role in the global nitrogen cycle. The bacterium, called Nitrobacter winogradskyi, carries out nitrite oxidation – a process important for recycling nitrogen in soils and sewage treatment. “This step of the nitrogen cycle is understudied at the genetic level,” says OSU microbiology PhD student Shawn Starkenburg. “Sequencing the genome for this bacterium provides a baseline to study this process in more detail.” Starkenburg, OSU faculty, Luis Sayavedra-Soto, Daniel Arp, and Peter Bottomley, and colleagues from the Department of Energy, the University of Louisville, and the University of Wisconsin report on their study in the March issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Read more...

Position Announcement

Assistant/Associate Professor, Soil Microbiologist/Chemist, Department of Crop and Soil Science - Position in part supported by the Subsurface Biosphere Initiative. This individual will provide leadership for soil organic biogeochemistry or rhizosphere biology. He/she will work in close collaboration with other research and teaching faculty doing soil biology and soil chemistry work. Applications accepted through April 1, 2006. FMI: http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/jobs/academic/001-2231.html

Funding Opportunities

SBI Summer 2006 Undergraduate Internships - SBI will offer paid internships for undergraduates to work on research projects related to the subsurface biosphere. The goal of these internships is to provide undergraduates with rewarding research experiences at OSU that will stimulate their interest in the subsurface biosphere and encourage them to pursue graduate studies. The program will focus on, but is not limited to, under-represented minority and women students. The application deadline is April 15. FMI: http://sbi.oregonstate.edu/education/interns.htm.

SBI Proposal Development Grants For Multidisciplinary Research, Research Centers, Research Partnerships, Equipment - The SBI is seeking requests from faculty that will aid in the development of proposals for externally funded grants for: multidisciplinary research, research centers, research partnerships, or equipment. The maximum amount of an SBI award will be $10K, which can be used to fund salary (release time, summer salary, and increases in FTE up to 1.0) for generating the proposal, clerical support, cost share, or matching funds for equipment. FMI: http://sbi.oregonstate.edu/research/smallgrants.htm

For a list of external grant opportunities related to the subsurface biosphere, click here...

Upcoming Events

Travel Funding Still Available for the 2006 OSU Subsurface Biosphere Workshop. The workshop will be held in Newport, OR between June 18 -21, 2006 and will include platform presentations by invited speakers from throughout the United States, as well as OSU faculty and students. There will also be a poster session for all participants to present results of their research. It is co-sponsored by the SBI and the NSF-funded Earth's Subsurface Biosphere IGERT. FMI: http://sbi.oregonstate.edu/news/workshop06.htm.

Thursday, March 16 4:00PM. IGERT Earth's Subsurface Biosphere Seminar Series. "Regulation of transcription initiation and termination in Archaea" Speaker: Dr. John N. Reeve, Professor of Microbiology at Ohio State University. Held on campus at Burt 193. FMI: http://www.osumicrobiology.org/faculty/jreeve.htm and http://oregonstate.edu/dept/igert/seminars.html .

Link to a calendar of other related events...

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