News

Nearly 100 individuals attended the Michigan State University College of Natural Science annual awards program on April 21 to acknowledge alumni, faculty and students for outstanding achievements and excellence. The event was held at the Graduate hotel in East Lansing, Mich., across from the MSU campus.

MSU’s College of Natural Science held its 13th annual Classes Without Quizzes on April 22 at WKAR Studio A in the Communication Arts and Sciences Building—a new venue for the event. More than 100 alumni, friends and guests attended the event (a hybrid of in-person and online). CWQ gives participants a chance to meet with NatSci faculty members and students, while getting an insider’s look at some of the latest research activities being undertaken on the MSU campus.

In addition to MSU physics and astronomy faculty members contributions to NASA's efforts to be ready to redirect incoming space rocks or asteroids, the MSU Observatory is enabling undergraduates to generate important data for the astronomy community while gaining valuable skills and experience in an increasingly competitive field. In doing so, they’re setting themselves and future generations of Spartan students up for success.  

Michigan State University integrative biologist Jason Gallant and colleagues are using nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation to understand the implications from a small African fish which evolved to have sperm with no tails but an electric-powered mating call. Greater insight into this interesting trait could ultimately shed light on human disease and shake up biology lessons on traditional gender roles.

Climate changes are conjuring a whirlwind ride that seems to present some creatures opportunities to thrive. Scientists scripting supercharged scenarios caution that the difference between seasonal coping and long-term adaption is vast – and tricky to predict. Michigan State University biologists are studying damselflies to understand how other species will respond to a warmer world. Their findings were recently published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Thirty-five (35) College of Natural Science graduating students were among a record-breaking 206 graduating students recognized by the Michigan State University Board of Trustees for achieving the highest scholastic average—a 4.0 GPA—this semester.

Finding time away from research and teaching can be daunting for graduate students and faculty. Which is why last fall, Amy Ralston, NatSci associate dean of graduate studies, decided to create the Great IDEA Fellowship Program to foster greater inclusivity and promote IDEA efforts in STEM. The program incentivizes mentors and grad students to spend some time away from their research to focus on inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, or IDEA.

Shannon Schmoll, science education and astronomy expert and director of the Abrams Planetarium at MSU, offers insight to the upcoming Lyrid meteor shower expected between April 16 and 25 in this Ask the Expert column.