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!
Taylor Sultan Quedensley
Lichenized-fungi of Texas: Biology, Ecology, and Distribution of a Diverse Group of Understudied Organisms
Lichens are a diverse group of organisms in Texas, occupying many different types of habitats throughout the state. There are over 500 species reported for the state, and the number is undoubtedly greater considering the relatively low amount of collecting that has been conducted. With a diverse flora and fauna well-reported for Texas, lichens also need to be included in the discussion of the state’s high biodiversity levels, and also towards developing conservation strategies for threatened ecosystems.
Samuel Scarpino
Influenza Dynamics and Vaccination in Texas
From reductions in productivity to severe illness and death, Influenza has a profound impact on our state, country and world. In addition, recent concerns surrounding Avian Influenza and Swine Origin H1N1 have only served to heighten our sense of insecurity about the emergence of a highly virulent, pandemic flu strain. Can we predict the spread of flu in Texas? How are modern vaccines produced and are they safe? Can the effect of a pandemic flu be mitigated? In this talk I will discuss these questions and present research on the dynamics of flu in Texas, our response to emerging pandemic strains, and the development/safety of vaccines.
Hayley Gillespie
Texas Salamander Extravaganza
Hayley is a graduate student studying the ecology and behavior of the endangered Barton Springs Salamander (Eurycea sosorum) that lives right here in Austin, Texas. Texas is home to many species of salamanders including the giant black & yellow tiger salamanders, two-legged Sirens, waterdogs, spotted newts, slimy salamanders and a diverse group of permanently aquatic salamanders in the genus Eurycea, all very closely related to our Barton Springs Salamander. Come and learn about their incredible biology, how they survive in all kinds of habitats, and what’s being done to conserve and protect these fascinating amphibians!
Science Under The Stars 