Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Seminar

Instructor: Dr. Matthew Gray (mgray11@utk.edu)

Seminar Assistant: Dr. Jason Hoverman (jhoverma@utk.edu)

Phone: 974-2740 (MG), 974-0831 (JH)

Office: 247 Ellington PSB (MG), 230 Ellington PSB (JH)

Meeting Time and Place: Wed, 12:20 − 1:10 p.m., 160 Plant Biotechnology Building

Course Goal: To provide an opportunity for forestry, wildlife and fisheries graduate students to practice delivering professional presentations and to increase opportunities for graduate students and faculty to interact.

Expected Outcomes: Students will develop skills in constructing and delivering PowerPoint presentations and in answering questions related to their graduate research and natural resource principles, concepts and issues.

Course Credits: 1 credit

Academic Assessment:

Weights of Academic Assessments:

● Presentation 80%

● Attendance 20% (2% per seminar, 17 Feb – 28 Apr)

Course grade will be determined using the following scale:

Grade	Final Weighted Percent	Grade	Final Weighted Percent
A	90–100%	B	80–86%
B+	87–89%	C+	77–79%

Full Syllabus

Presentation Grading Sheet

Examples of Contemporary Natural Resource Topics

Presentation Schedule:

Date	Name (MS/PhD; 1^st/2^nd Seminar)	Title
3 February	Statistical Forum I	An interactive discussion of statistical concepts led by Drs. Matt Gray, Keith Belli, Jason Henning, and Tim Young Students: Please submit questions to mgray11@utk.edu by 27 January.
10 February	Statistical Forum II
17 February	Dr. Matt Gray (FWF)	Ranaviruses: Cold-blooded Killers
24 February	Dr. Jeff Warren (ORNL)	Terrestrial Water Relations and Climate Change
3 March	Dr. Paul Armsworth (EEB)	The Design of Investments in Biological Conservation
4 March	Dr. Shakunthala Sridhara	Bamboo flowering and rodent outbreaks
10 March	No Seminar: Spring Break
17 March	1. Consuelo Brandeis (PhD, 2^nd) 2. Leila Pinchot (PhD, 2^nd)	Conservation Banking: The Business of Wildlife Habitat and Species Protection Considerations for American Chestnut Restoration
24 March	1. Jennapher Teunissen Van Manen (MS, 2^nd) 2. Casey Dunn (MS, 2^nd)	Controversies of Listing the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Under the Endangered Species Act Effects of fly ash on aquatic organisms and water quality
31 March	1. Chris Lituma (PhD, 1^st) 2. Yujie Meng (MS, 2^nd)	Estimating detection probabilities and monitoring for grassland birds using a roadside based survey in the Central Hardwoods BCR Effect of Thermo-mechanical Refining Pressure on the Properties of Wood Fibers by Small Scale Dynamic Mechanical Analysis
7 April	1. Kevin Hamed (PhD, 2^nd) 2. Nathan Haislip (MS, 2^nd)	Effects of Timber Harvesting on Amphibian Populations Exotic Reptile and Amphibian Species: Their Impacts and how far should we go?
14 April	1. Daniel Reed (PhD, 1^st) 2. Stacy Warwick (BS, 1^st)	An Exploratory Content Analysis of TVA’s Environmental Impact Statement Process as Required by the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) Evaluation of solvent fractionation processes on switchgrass
21 April	1. William DeBord (MS, 2^nd) 2. Richard Cristan (MS, 2^nd)	Effects of Bracken Fern Expansion on Red Oak Regeneration following Prescribed Fire Carbon Sequestration with Forest Certification Programs for Landowners
28 April	1. Gerry Avila (PhD, 1^st) 2. Mega Binti Abang (MS, 1^st)	Economic and Environmental Assessment on the Potential of Forest Biomass Industry in the Southeast Elevated nitrogen deposition related to xylem formation; would it enhance drought tolerance for selected forest tree species in Tennessee?