Biology

Ronneberg Lectures

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Dr. Conrad E. Ronneberg was a Professor of Chemistry at Denison University.  He endowed the Ronneberg Lectureship in 1981 as a means to bring to campus outstanding scientists to lecture on a diverse range of topics.  Dr. Ronneberg hoped these scientists would have real stature in the intellectual world and that they would increase the students’ appreciation for science.  Historically, the Ronneberg Lectureship has funded a mixture of well-known speakers for a larger audience and more specialized speakers for a smaller audience, often linked to specific science courses.


Procedures for Requesting Funds

Submit a proposal via email to Dr. Jessica Rettig, the coordinator for the Ronneberg Lectureships (rettig@denison.edu), that includes:

  1. Speaker’s name & institutional affiliation & anticipated date(s) of the visit.
  2. List of any classes or student groups he/she will likely visit.
  3. If you plan to have the speaker give a "public" presentation, then list the potential topic and audience for this lecture (the audience can be students).  A "public" event could be a brown bag lunch, an early evening talk, or some other format.
  4. Name of faculty/department(s)/program(s) hosting the lecturer.
  5. Include a budget with estimated costs for the portions of the visit that Ronneberg is asked to fund.  This might include travel, lodging, and food for the speaker, meal or reception with students or faculty, and an honorarium.  Ronneberg can partner with departments or programs to fund speakers.

Upcoming Ronneberg Events

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  • February 12 – Sim Van der Ryn  (“father of green building")

“Resiliency: The Rebirth of Eco-Democracy”.  4:30 pm Slayter Auditorium.  Co-Sponsored with the McGregor Connections Initiative and Environmental Studies.




“Mining gold in the deep sea: Feasibility, environmental risks, and benefits”. 7:30 pm Burton Morgan 115.  Dr. Van Dover has time to meet with faculty and students on the afternoons of March 24 (Tuesday) and March 25 (Wednesday). Please contact Dr. Laura Romano for more information (romanol@denison.edu).

Abstract:  Soon after the discovery of deep-sea hot springs (aka hydrothermal vents) at seafloor spreading centers, scientists recognized that the same processes that result in seafloor massive sulfide deposits at these springs can also be found in terrestrial formations known as ophiolites.  Ophiolites represent ancient pieces of ocean crust uplifted to form land, and they are often host to commercial ore deposits for copper, zinc, gold, and silver.  Emerging industries now target submarine sulfide deposits for commercial mining.  Hot springs on the seafloor are also host to strange and luxuriant communities of microorganisms and invertebrates that are adapted to the extreme conditions found at vents.  The energy basis of these communities is chemosynthesis (chemical) rather than photosynthesis (energy from sunlight).  The discovery of hydrothermal vent communities fundamentally changed the way we view the extremes to which life on this and other planets can adapt.  This seminar will consider the risks to biodiversity from deep-sea gold mining and the arguments for mineral extraction at seafloor hot springs. 

Presentation title and location TBA. Dr. Gingerich’s research explores the origin and early evolution of whales. Co-sponsored with Denison’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Gingerich has time to meet with faculty and students during his visit on March 30 and 31.  Please contact Dr. Andy McCall for more information (mccalla@denison.edu).

Recent Activities