The 17th annual fall seminar series offered by UNL's Center for Grassland Studies will include lectures on topics ranging from the proposed TransCanada pipeline through the Sandhills to multi-species grazing to challenges for further improvement in buffalograss.
The seminars, which may be taken for academic credit and are also free and open to the public, are held most Mondays during the fall semester from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Nebraska East Union (see kiosks for location).
This year’s lineup of speakers includes Nobel Laureate Jack Morgan and National Academy of Sciences member Ronald Phillips. Morgan will discuss the effects of global climate change on grasslands of the Great Plains on Oct. 24, and Phillips’ talk on Nov. 14 will reflect on Norman Borlaug and the “Green Revolution.”
“I am highly pleased and the university community is most fortunate to have as presenters on this year’s program such a notable group of individuals highlighted by both a Nobel Laureate and a member of the National Academy of Sciences,” said Martin Massengale, course instructor and director of the Center for Grassland Studies.
Morgan's visit to UNL is made possible by a gift from the Frank and Margaret Leu family to the University of Nebraska Foundation. Phillips also will give a seminar to the faculty, students and staff in Biotechnology/Life Sciences while on the UNL campus.
Below is the complete schedule of Grassland Studies seminars:
Aug. 29 - Keenan Amundsen, Plant Breeder-Turfgrass, agronomy and horticulture, UNL, "Evolution of Buffalograss into a Highly Valued Native Turfgrass and Challenges for Further Improvement"
Sept. 12 - Gary Hein, director of the Plant Health Program, UNL, "Doctor of Plant Health: A New Profession for a More Sustainable Future"
Sept. 19 - Jim Stubbendieck, professor emeritus, agronomy and horticulture, UNL, "Evolution of Vegetation and Ranching on the Great Plains"
Sept. 26 - John Guretzky, assistant professor, agronomy and horticulture, UNL, "Effects of Nitrogen Input on Litter Accumulation and Decomposition in Pastures"
Oct. 3 - Guatam Sarath, research scientist-molecular biology, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Lincoln, "Switchgrass Molecular Biology 101"
Oct. 10 - Glenn Pollock, naturalist, Omaha,"A Guide to Prairie Management Using Historical Data"
Oct. 24 - Jack Morgan, research scientist-plant physiology and Nobel Laureate, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Fort Collins, Colo., "Effect of Global Climate Change on Grasslands of the Great Plains"
Oct. 31 - Tom Bragg, professor, biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, "Fire Ecology of Plant Savannas of Western Australia"
Nov. 7 - Anne Vidaver, professor and department head emeritus, plant pathology, UNL, "Fatal Omission: The TransCanada Pipeline and the Sandhills"
Nov. 14 - Ron Phillips, regents professor of plant genetics emeritus and member of National Academy of Sciences, agronomy and plant genetics, University of Minnesota, "Norman Borlaug and the Future of the Green Revolution"
Nov. 21 - Kent Aden, assistant real estate administrator, Central Nebraska Public Power, "Impacts of Multi-Species Grazing"
Nov. 28 - Alan Baquet, professor and director of the PGA Golf Management Program, UNL, "Current Status of the PGA Golf Management Major at UNL"
Dec. 5 - TBA
Videos of the seminars will be available for checkout from the center. For more information, contact the Center for Grassland Studies at (402) 472-4101, email grassland@unl.edu, or visit http://www.grassland.unl.edu.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/vku