January 16th, Juju Dessert
Leafcutter Ants: The Amazing Fungus Farmers
Join Juju Dessert, Molecular Biology PhD candidate at UT Austin, on January 16th to explore the fascinating world of leafcutter ants! These ants aren’t eating the leaves they carry—they use plant matter to cultivate a special fungus in their underground chambers. It’s like farming, but instead of growing vegetables, they grow the fungus that serves as their food. Juju’s research delves into the incredible partnership between these ants and their fungus, focusing on the special enzymes they use to break down tough plant material. Discover how this unique collaboration works and why it’s so important to our ecosystems!
Lecture Schedule
- 7:00 pm: Kid’s activities and natural history displays
- 7:15 pm – 7:45 pm: Guided tour of the Brackenridge Field Laboratory (sturdy shoes and water recommended!)
- 8:00 pm: The talk begins!
- 8:45 pm: Q&A with the speaker
📍 Location: Brackenridge Field Laboratory, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, Texas 78703
💡 No RSVP is required – just show up and enjoy!
🌦️ While we aim to host all events outdoors, sometimes weather conditions or volunteer capacity may require that we move the event inside the laboratory building.
🅿️ Free parking is available at BFL for all lecture events!
Follow us on our Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, or email us to stay updated on event-specific details. We look forward to seeing you at our events! ✨
🎨 Join us at STEM Girl Day at UT Austin on February 22! We’ll have a table featuring our activity: Coloring, Creatures, and Curiosity. Explore fascinating Austin animals, get creative with coloring, and ask UT biologists anything you’re curious about. Don’t forget to register for STEM Girl Day 2025!
Spring 2025 Schedule
Happy New Year! We’re excited to announce the Spring 2025 lineup for Science Under The Stars, a free, student-run public outreach lecture series! This spring, we’re diving into topics that showcase the wonders of nature, with a particularly insecty theme in many of our talks. Mark your calendars for these exciting events featuring biologists from UT Austin:
February 6: Juju Dessert – Leafcutter Ants: The Amazing Fungus Farmers
February 27 (Partnering with the Texas Science Festival): Leeah Richardson – Buzzworthy Behaviors and the Sting of Anthropogenic Stressors
March 13: Fiona MacNeill – Picking Your Poison: How Plant Chemical Traits Defend Against Herbivores, Attract Pollinators, and Influence Toxic Butterflies
April 10: Yanan Bai – Illuminating Growth: The Story of Light and Plants
Lecture Schedule
- 7:00 pm: Kid’s activities and natural history displays
- 7:15 pm – 7:45 pm: Guided tour of the Brackenridge Field Laboratory (sturdy shoes and water recommended!)
- 8:00 pm: The talk begins!
- 8:45 pm: Q&A with the speaker
📍 Location: Brackenridge Field Laboratory, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, Texas 78703
💡 No RSVP is required – just show up and enjoy!
🌦️ While we aim to host all events outdoors, sometimes weather conditions or volunteer capacity may require that we move the event inside the laboratory building.
🅿️ Free parking is available at BFL for all lecture events!
Follow us on our Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, or email us to stay updated on event-specific details. We look forward to seeing you this spring under the stars! ✨
🎨 Join us at STEM Girl Day at UT Austin on February 22! We’ll have a table featuring our activity: Coloring, Creatures, and Curiosity. Explore fascinating Austin animals, get creative with coloring, and ask UT biologists anything you’re curious about. Don’t forget to register for STEM Girl Day 2025!
December 12th, Wenli Wang
Green Genes: How Plants Shape Our World
Like us, plants are also watching the sunrise, experiencing the changing seasons and breathing the air. Behind these behaviors lies a complex network of genes that regulate plant growth and development. Understanding these gene networks helps us uncover how plants adapt to their environments and thrive. By manipulating gene expression, we can even design plants to better benefit our lives. But what exactly are gene-edited plants? And are they safe? Let’s explore these questions together at our December event on the 12th with Wenli Wang, a post-doctoral scholar in the Department of Molecular Biosciences at UT Austin.
📅 Date: December 12th
📍 Location: Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Austin, TX
🕗 Time:
- 7:00 pm – Kid’s activities & natural history displays
- 7:15 pm – Guided tour of BFL begins
- 8:00 pm – Talk begins
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November 7th, Luke Larter
Getting to Know Your Nighttime Neighbors: A Guide to The Calls of Common Nocturnal Callers in Austin
The nocturnal world is filled with creatures that go ‘Buzz!’, ‘Croak’!, and ‘Squawk!’ in the night. Austin is no exception, being home to many fascinating species of insects and frogs that can really kick up a racket! But who are these nocturnal neighbors of ours? Why do they make the noises they make? And, when in the year do they dust off their vocal cords, wings, or timbals, to belt out their favorite tune? Luke Larter, a PhD candidate in Integrative Biology at UT Austin, will introduce you to some of his favorite players in Austin’s star-lit symphony, to teach you their calls and the right times to listen for them. Impress friends and bewilder enemies with your newfound knowledge of these secretive singers that, to many, remain shrouded in darkness.
📅 Date: November 7
📍 Location: Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Austin, TX
🕗 Time:
- 7:00 pm – Kid’s activities & natural history displays
- 7:15 pm – Guided tour of BFL begins
- 8:00 pm – Talk begins
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October 10th, Maddie Brightbill
The Flower that Blooms in Adversity: Molecular Responses to Warm Temperatures
What do you do when it’s hot outside? This question is more and more relevant every year, as global temperatures continue to rise. While animals can travel to cooler climates, plants cannot rely on movement to survive. Instead, they combat warm temperatures by changing their gene expression in real time. Plant geneticists all over the world are studying this and making advances in genome editing to learn more. But what are the plants doing in the first place? And what are scientists actually doing to help? Join Maddie Brightbill for an introduction to plant genetics and flowering guaranteed to make you feel confident next time you hear about these studies in the news.
📅 Date: October 10
📍 Location: Brackenridge Field Laboratory, Austin, TX
🕗 Time:
- 7:00 pm – Kid’s activities & natural history displays
- 7:15 pm – Guided tour of BFL begins
- 8:00 pm – Talk begins
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Science Under The Stars 