July 12, 2010
Read the newsletter online or link to past newsletters: http://sbi.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, July 21 (all day), La Sells Stewart Center - SBI Summer Workshop - This year’s workshop will feature presentations from graduate students, post-doctoral research associates, and faculty members from the colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Engineering, Forestry, and Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Topics range from basic research related to the role of subsurface microorganisms in the global cycling of carbon and nitrogen to their use in bioremediation of hazardous substances, the production of biofuels, the generation of energy using microbial fuel cells, the enhanced production of oil from well fields, and the subsurface sequestration of carbon dioxide. The presentations focus studies over a range in scales from the laboratory beaker to the field scale. For more information about attending the workshop,  contact Garrett Jones garrett.jones@oregonstate.edu; 541-737-2751.

Thursday, September 2, 2:30-4:30, MU 109. SBI Undergraduate Intern Poster Session. Save the date for this rewarding session where SBI interns share their summer research experiences.

Link to a calendar of other related events...

Recent OSU Publications Related to the Subsurface Biosphere

(Know of a 2010 publication missing from this list? Please send the reference to sbi@oregonstate.edu.)

Currie, W. S., M. E. Harmon, I. C. Burke, S. C. Hart, W. J. Parton, and W. Silver. 2010. Cross-biome transplants of plant litter show decomposition models extend to a broader climatic range but lose predictability at the decadal time scale. Global Change Biology 16 (6):1744-1761.

Dossa, E. L., S. Diedhiou, J. E. Compton, K. B. Assigbetse, and R. P. Dick. 2010. Spatial patterns of P fractions and chemical properties in soils of two native shrub communities in Senegal. Plant and Soil 327 (1-2):185-198.

Feaga, J. B., J. S. Selker, R. P. Dick, and D. D. Hemphill. 2010. Long-Term Nitrate Leaching Under Vegetable Production with Cover Crops in the Pacific Northwest. Soil Science Society of America Journal 74 (1):186-195.

Griffiths, R. P., A. N. Gray, and T. A. Spies. 2010. Soil Properties in Old-growth Douglas-fir Forest Gaps in the Western Cascade Mountains of Oregon. Northwest Science 84 (1):33-45.

Hassan, K. A., A. Johnson, B. T. Shaffer, Q. H. Ren, T. A. Kidarsa, L. D. H. Elbourne, S. Hartney, R. Duboy, N. C. Goebel, T. M. Zabriskie, I. T. Paulsen, and J. E. Loper. 2010. Inactivation of the GacA response regulator in Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf-5 has far-reaching transcriptomic consequences. Environmental Microbiology 12 (4):899-915.

Istok, J. D., M. Park, M. Michalsen, A. M. Spain, L. R. Krumholz, C. Liu, J. McKinley, P. Long, E. Roden, A. D. Peacock, and B. Baldwin. 2010. A thermodynamically-based model for predicting microbial growth and community composition coupled to system geochemistry: Application to uranium bioreduction. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology 112 (1-4):1-14.

Janssens, I. A., W. Dieleman, S. Luyssaert, J. A. Subke, M. Reichstein, R. Ceulemans, P. Ciais, A. J. Dolman, J. Grace, G. Matteucci, D. Papale, S. L. Piao, E. D. Schulze, J. Tang, and B. E. Law. 2010. Reduction of forest soil respiration in response to nitrogen deposition. Nature Geoscience 3 (5):315-322.

Kayler, Z. E., E. W. Sulzman, W. D. Rugh, A. C. Mix, and B. J. Bond. 2010. Characterizing the impact of diffusive and advective soil gas transport on the measurement and interpretation of the isotopic signal of soil respiration. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 42 (3):435-444.

Kleber, M., and M. G. Johnson. 2010. Advances in Understanding the Molecular Structure of Soil Organic Matter: Implications for Interactions in the Environment Advances in Agronomy, Vol 106 106:77-142.

Lee, J. H., M. Dolan, J. Field, and J. Istok. 2010. Monitoring Bioaugmenation with Single-Well Push-Pull Tests in Sediment Systems Contaminated with Trichloroethene. Environmental Science & Technology 44 (3):1085-1092.

Li, J. W., X. Shang, Z. X. Zhao, R. L. Tanguay, Q. X. Dong, and C. J. Huang. 2010. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water, sediment, soil, and plants of the Aojiang River waterway in Wenzhou, China. Journal of Hazardous Materials 173 (1-3):75-81.

McFarlane, K. J., S. H. Schoenholtz, R. F. Powers, and S. S. Perakis. 2010. Soil Organic Matter Stability in Intensively Managed Ponderosa Pine Stands in California. Soil Science Society of America Journal 74 (3):979-992.

Phillips, C. L., N. Nickerson, D. Risk, Z. E. Kayler, C. Andersen, A. Mix, and B. J. Bond. 2010. Soil moisture effects on the carbon isotope composition of soil respiration. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 24 (9):1271-1280.

Sayavedra-Soto, L. A., B. Gvakharia, P. J. Bottomley, D. J. Arp, and M. E. Dolan. 2010. Nitrification and degradation of halogenated hydrocarbons-a tenuous balance for ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 86 (2):435-444.

Slesak, R. A., S. H. Schoenholtz, and T. B. Harrington. 2010. Soil Respiration and Carbon Responses to Logging Debris and Competing Vegetation. Soil Science Society of America Journal 74 (3):936-946.

Conference Information

July 9. Abstract deadline for the 21st Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments,
Water, and Energy, March 14-17, 2011, San Diego, CA.

August 1. Deadline for poster abstracts for the 9th European Nitrogen Fixation Conference, September 6-10, Geneva, Switzerland.

August 3. Deadline for virtual posters for the ASA, CSSA and SSSA 2010 International Annual Meetings, October 31-November 3, Long Beach, CA.

August 10. Abstract deadline for the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, October 31 - November 3, 2010, Denver, CO.

August 14-18. Phyllosphere 2010: 9th International Symposium on the Microbiology of Aerial Plant Surfaces. La Sells Stewart Center, OSU.

August 22-27. 13th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology. Seattle, WA.

September 2. Abstract deadline for the Fall 2010 American Geophysical Union Meeting, December 13-17, 2010, San Francisco, CA.

September 17. Abstract deadline for the International Symposium on Soil Metagenomics, December 8 - 10, 2010, Braunschweig, Germany.

Opportunities for Students

GE & Science Prize for Young Life Scientists - For applicants who were awarded a PhD in molecular biology during 2008. "For the purpose of this prize molecular biology is defined as "that part of biology which attempts to interpret biological events in terms of the physicochemical properties of molecules in a cell". To apply, submit a 1,000 word essay on your work. There will be one grand prize and four regional prize winners." The winners will fly to Stockholm for the award ceremony meet some of the Nobel Prize laureates, have their PhD profiled in the online version of Science, and receive $25,000 or $5,000 for regional winners. Deadline: August 1, 2010.

The National Academies Research Associateship Program. "The Research Associateship awards are open to doctoral level scientists and engineers (U.S and Foreign Nationals) who can apply their special knowledge and talents to research areas that are of interest to them and to the participating sponsoring laboratories and centers. Awards are available for Postdoctoral Associates (within 5 years of the doctorate) and Senior Associates (normally 5 years or more beyond the doctorate)." Applications due: August 1, 2010.

Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry, Camille & Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc. - Applications should describe innovative fundamental research in the chemical sciences or engineering related to the environment. Examples include but are not limited to the chemistry associated with: the climate, the atmosphere, aquatic or marine settings, toxicology, soil or groundwater. Also of interest are chemistry-related energy research (renewable sources, sequestration, etc.). The program provides a $120,000 award, payable in two $60,000 installments. Funds are normally expended over a period of two years after the appointment of the Fellow. Applications due: August 24, 2010.

Opportunities for Faculty

(listed by due date)

20 July 2010. NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program.
Description: This program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the NSF's most prestigious awards in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply. PECASE: Each year NSF selects nominees for the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from among the most meritorious new CAREER awardees.

20 July 2010. NASA ROSES: Climate and Biological Response: Research and Applications.
Description: Focus on "making progress connecting climate drivers to biological responses in order to improve our basic understanding of climate change impacts and to develop tools for managing species and ecosystems, and their associated landscapes and seascapes, under a changing climate." Includes both Type A: Research Proposals and Type B: Applications proposals to support ecosystem and landscape management.

Preproposal due: 22 July 2010. NSF: Informal Science Education (ISE) (Full Proposal due: 7 December 2010).
Description: The ISE program supports innovation in anywhere, anytime, lifelong learning, through investments in research, development, infrastructure, and capacity-building for STEM learning outside formal school settings.

31 July 2010. NSF Physics of Living Systems (PoLS).
Description: This program evolved from the successful Biological Physics program, which supported projects that applied analytical and experimental tools of physics to the study of biological problems at the molecular level. PoLS is replacing the Biological Physics program and will target theoretical and experimental research exploring the most fundamental biological processes that living systems utilize to perform their functions in dynamic and diverse environments. PoLS will stimulate those investigations that have the potential to transform the study of living systems.

1 August 2010. NSF: Science, Technology, and Society (STS) .
Description: STS considers proposals that examine historical, philosophical, and sociological questions that arise in connection with science, engineering, and technology, and their respective interactions with society. STS has four components: 1. Ethics and Values in Science, Engineering and Technology (EVS), 2. History and Philosophy of Science, Engineering and Technology (HPS), 3. Social Studies of Science, Engineering and Technology (SSS), 4. Studies of Policy, Science, Engineering and Technology (SPS).

2 August 2010. NSF: Environmental Chemical Sciences (ECS).
Description: ECS supports basic research in chemistry that promotes the understanding of natural and anthropogenic chemical processes in our environment. Projects supported by this program enable fundamentally new avenues of basic research and transformative technologies. The program is particularly interested in studying molecular phenomena on surfaces and interfaces in order to understand the inherently complex and heterogeneous environment.

15 August 2010. NSF Biological Oceanography.
Description: The Biological Oceanography Program supports research in marine ecology broadly defined: relationships among aquatic organisms and their interactions with the environments of the oceans or Great Lakes.

15 August 2010. NSF Marine Geology and Geophysics.
Description: The Marine Geology and Geophysics program supports research on all aspects of geology and geophysics of the ocean basins and margins, as well as the Great Lakes. The Program includes: Structure, tectonic evolution and volcanic activity of the ocean basins, the continental margins, the mid-ocean ridges, and island arc systems; Processes controlling exchange of heat and chemical species between seawater and ocean rocks; Genesis, chemistry, and mineralogic evolution of marine sediments; Processes controlling deposition, erosion and transport of marine sediments; Past ocean circulation patterns and climates; and Interactions of continental and marine geologic processes.

25 August 2010. NSF: Research Experiences for Undergraduates.
Description: This solicitation features two mechanisms for support of student research: (1) REU Sites are based on independent proposals to initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of students in research. REU Sites may be based in a single discipline or academic department, or on interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme. Proposals with an international dimension are welcome. A partnership with the Department of Defense supports REU Sites in DoD-relevant research areas. (2) REU Supplements may be requested for ongoing NSF-funded research projects or may be included as a component of proposals for new or renewal NSF grants or cooperative agreements.

27 August 2010. NSF: Instrument Development for Biological Research (IDBR).
Description: The program will accept two types of proposals: 1.Innovation proposals for the development of novel instrumentation that provides new research capabilities, or that significantly (e.g., by at least an order of magnitude, where appropriate) improves current technologies by at least an order of magnitude in fundamental aspects (such as accuracy, precision, resolution, throughput, flexibility, portability, breadth of application, cost of construction, operation costs, or user-friendliness); 2.Bridging proposals for transforming, ‘one of a kind' prototypes or high-end instruments into devices that are broadly available and utilizable without loss of capacity.

The SBI has funding available for proposal development and maintains a list of external grant opportunities related to the subsurface biosphere.

This newsletter is distributed by OSU's Subsurface Biosphere Initiative - an interdisciplinary consortium of faculty and students who share interests in underground ecosystems. The newsletter is distributed through the SBI email lists. To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to http://sbi.oregonstate.edu/news/listserv.htm. Questions, comments and newsletter topics may be sent to the sbi@oregonstate.edu. Newsletters are also available on the Web at http://sbi.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/.