Seminars, News, and Events

 

Stay connected with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Here you'll find the latest news about our faculty, students, and alumni, along with upcoming events and our seminar series, which brings researchers from across the field to Tulane to share new work in ecology, evolution, conservation, and global change.

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Fall 2026 Seminar Series

Seminars start at 11:00 AM unless otherwise noted.

How Flight Shapes the Ecology and Evolution of Birds

Dr. Santiago Claramunt  |  LSU - New Orleans

LBC Room 203

Research as Relationship: Indigenous Community-Based Science and Academia as a Revolving Door

Conor Handley  |  University of Arizona

Richardson 204

Exploring the Genetic Basis of Mimicry and Mate Choice in Tropical Butterflies

Dr. Marcus Kronforst  |  University of Chicago

Weinmann Hall (Law School Building) WH-157

Vibrios in Louisiana and Beyond

Dr. Crystal Johnson  |  LSU - Baton Rouge

Richardson 204

Is Reduced Activity Enough to Explain the Gracile Skeleton of Modern Humans?

Dr. Habiba Chrichir  

Richardson 204

Public Dissertation Defense of Elizabeth MacDougal of the Van Bael Lab

Title TBA

Location TBA

Public Dissertation Defense of Whitney Murchison-Kastner of the Ferris Lab

Title TBA

Location TBA

Public Dissertation Defense of Judith Santano of the Van Bael Lab

Title TBA

Location TBA

News

Collage of eight portraits of academics.

A New Era of Leadership: SSE Welcomes a New Associate Dean and Seven Department Chairs

The Tulane University School of Science and Engineering (SSE) is entering an exciting new chapter of growth, community engagement, and academic innovation. In keeping with the school’s strategic vision, SSE welcomes a new Associate Dean and seven department chairs, a leadership team that will serve its students, faculty, staff, and alumni and advance its mission of rigorous, collaborative scholarship and global impact.

Woman with glasses in a blue shirt gesturing while speaking in front of a projection screen.

The Art of Translation: Jill Love’s Journey From the Lab to the Stage

High in the rugged peaks of Sierra Nevada rests the Mimulus laciniatus—the cutleaf monkeyflower. To a casual hiker, these flowers are merely a part of the scenery; to Jill Love, Ph.D. in Tulane University’s Ferris Lab, they are a living puzzle. Her research sits at the intersection of evolutionary ecology and climate change, exploring a fundamental question: how do plants survive in a world where the rules are constantly shifting?

Collage of seven young women in various settings.

Ten from Tulane SSE Earn NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Recognition

Ten students and alumni connected to the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering have been recognized through the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, one of the nation’s most competitive honors for emerging researchers in science and engineering.

Group of people posing for a photo outdoors by the water.

Building Islands, Building Impact Along the Mississippi River

 

On a recent morning in the wetlands just east of New Orleans, a group of Tulane researchers and students stepped onto a mound of newly built land carrying trays of native plants.  Before following the plan to install the landscape, the group took time to gaze at the islands popping out of the vast open water and discuss a brief history of the site. A year ago, none of this existed.  

Three researchers in distinct environments: one in water, one in an office, one in a lab.

Tulane School of Science and Engineering Announces Three New Department Chairs Beginning January 1, 2026

 

The Tulane University School of Science and Engineering (SSE) is pleased to announce three new department chair appointments taking effect January 1, 2026. Dr. Hank Ashbaugh will lead the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE), Dr. Sunshine Van Bael will chair the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB), and Dr. Ryan Glasser will head the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics (PEP).

Undergraduate and Graduate Awards

 

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Eleanor Casement
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Anya Mukundan & Sarah Donato
  • Senior Scholars Award: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Eleanor Casement
  • Senior Scholars Award: Environmental Biology - Sloan Livacarri
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Anthony Strickler
  • The Meg Mauer Undergraduate Teaching Fellow Award - Hayley Fier

Graduate

  • The George Henry Penn Award - Sarah Khalil
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - John Jones
  • Stephen Darwin TA Award: Upper Level - Cooper Campbell
  • Bruce Fleury TA Award: Lower Level - Christen Steele
  • Outstanding Masters Student - Grace Gleason

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Melanie Smith
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Zach Ripich & Lewis Greenstein
  • Senior Scholars Award: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Maggie Conrad
  • Senior Scholars Award: Environmental Biology - Caraline Miller
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Caroline Camus
  • The Meg Mauer Undergraduate Teaching Fellow Award - Hillary Bohm, Jessica Vadiee, Eleanor Casement, Grace Gleason, Caraline Miller, Renee Silver, Caroline Camus, Margaret Conrad, Shannon Cruz, Jacklyn Drewry, Julia G. Gavilondo, Lewis Greenstein, Kacy Henwood, Lila Pell, Melanie Smith, Natalie Watkins & Caitlin Zimmer.
    • The 2020-21 academic year is the first year that EEB has given the Meg Mauer Teaching Fellow Award, which is intended to celebrate one Undergraduate Teaching Fellow who demonstrated exceptional service to the instruction of EBIO 1010/1015. But in light of the remarkable complications to regular instruction that the COVID-19 pandemic caused and the exceptional effort that each Undergraduate Fellow put forth, the Faculty of EEB unanimously decided to present the first ever Meg Mauer Undergraduate Teaching Fellow Award to ALL of the Undergraduate Fellows.

Graduate

  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Charlie Bond
  • Stephen Darwin TA Award: Upper Level - John Jones
  • Bruce Fleury TA Award: Lower Level - Annelise Blanchette

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Sarah Lueder
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Margaux Armfield & Danielle Kulick
  • Senior Scholars Award: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Kathleen Sway
  • Senior Scholars Award: Environmental Biology - Lucy Murray
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Allyson Martin

Graduate

  • The George Henry Penn Award – Kent Cody
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Zoe Diaz-Martin
  • TA Award: Upper Level - Bolivar Aponte Rolon
  • TA Award: Lower Level - Wilber Wiliam

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Lauren Hitt
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Molly Fava & Megan Ogburn
  • Senior Scholars Award: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Margaret Maurer
  • Senior Scholars Award: Environmental Biology - Shayna Ross
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Sean Deery

Graduate

  • The George Henry Penn Award – Peter Tellez
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Elizabeth Kimbrough
  • TA Award: Upper Level - Peter Tellez
  • TA Award: Lower Level - Cooper Campbell

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Trey Hendrix
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Elliot Hill & Clare Lister
  • Senior Scholars Award: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Trey Hendrix
  • Senior Scholars Award: Environmental Biology - Clare Lister
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Sam Leberg

Graduate

  • The George Henry Penn Award – Erik Enbody
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Brock Geary
  • TA Award: Upper Level - Michael Cyrana
  • TA Award: Lower Level - Lydia Crawford

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Emma Beth Saltzberg
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Michael Chalcie Mahoney & Emma Aline Darr
  • Senior Scholars Award: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Tadeo Hernan Ramirez Parada
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Gina Grace Zwicky

Graduate

  • The George Henry Penn Award – Luke Browne
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Samantha Lantz
  • TA Award: Upper Level - Kimberly Mighell
  • TA Award: Lower Level - Mae Berlow

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Mysia Dye
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Sara Hays & Hanna Wilson
  • Senior Scholars Award: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Mysia Dye
  • Senior Scholars Award: Environmental Science - Margaret Harlan
  • Senior Scholars Award: Environmental Biology - Alexandra Gulachenski
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Emily Norris

Graduate

  • The George Henry Penn Award – Jessica Henkel
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Jenny Hazlehurst
  • TA Award: Upper Level - Maggie MacPherson
  • TA Award: Lower Level - Jennifer Summers

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Hannah Megan Strobel
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Erik Nelson Kortadler Iverson & Eric Thomas Fagan
  • Senior Scholars Award: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology - Hannah Megan Strobel
  • Senior Scholars Award: Environmental Science - Daniel Joseph Coleman
  • The Bamforth Prize in Environmental Science - Daniel Joseph Coleman & Carolyn Nicole Blank
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Amie Elizabeth Settlekowski
  • Phi Beta Phi Award - Nicole Marie Moody

Graduate

  • The George Henry Penn Award – Andrew Laughlin
  • TA Awards - Julia Sonn & Samantha Lantz

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Nathan Boyd Frumkin
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Julia Kittleson Berkey and Brianna Megan O'Malley
  • Senior Scholars Award - Julia Kittleson Berkey and Nathan Boyd Frumkin
  • The Bamforth Prize in Environmental Science - Marlee Rose Labroo
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Casey Gu
  • Phi Beta Phi Award - Alexander Charles Philip Rose

Graduate

  • TA Awards - Justin David Yeager and Kimberly Louise Mighell

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Kyle Edward Coblentz
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Mitchell Garrett Hinton and Meredith Leigh Kurz
  • Senior Scholars Award – Kyle Edward Coblentz
  • The Bamforth Prize in Environmental Science - Victoria Jane Troeger
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Hannah Greer Williams

Graduate

  • The George Henry Penn Award – Nicole L. Michel
  • TA Award - Charlotte Grace Sprehn and Mark S. Fox

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize - Benjamin Thomas Jones
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award - Catherine Isabelle Emily Rich and Kaitlin Allison Arford Tasker
  • Senior Scholars Award – Laura Matthews, Benjamin Thomas Jones and Emily Cardarelli
  • The Bamforth Prize in Environmental Science – Cassandra Parran Campbell
  • Newcomb Zoology Prize - Daniela Rose Kurzban -
  • Phi Beta Phi Award – Frida Anna Zink

Graduate

  • TA Award – Andrew James Laughlin and Ashley Marie Peele

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize – Sarah Louise Gutman
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award – Stephanie Meredith Fitch and Lauren Avery Pettigrew
  • Senior Scholars Award – Mary Grace Lemon
  • The Bamforth Prize in Environmental Science – Cynthia Brit Christenson
  • Zoology Prize – Melissa Louise Sweeney

Graduate

  • TA Award – Ray C. Schmidt and Ashley M. Peele

Undergraduate

  • The Fred R. Cagle Memorial Prize – Keeley Irene Briggs
  • The Gerald E. Gunning Memorial Award – Diane E. Crouch and Seth Cunningham
  • Senior Scholars Award – Alice Zhang
  • The Bamforth Prize in Environmental Science – Alice Zhang
  • Zoology Prize – Katherine L. Schneider
  • Phi Beta Phi Award – Alice Zhang

Graduate

  • George Henry Penn Award – Samantha L. Gerlach