Dr. Jacqueline (“Jackie”) Webb, professor emerita of biological sciences, recently received the 2024 Robert K. Johnson Award for Excellence in Service by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

Photo by Marian Goldsmith, Professor Emerita, URI.

Research by Professor of Biological Sciences Alison Roberts and colleagues has revealed that plants also make cellulose microfibrils using a different class of enzymes called CSLD–an important discovery with potential implications for everything from textiles to renewable energy.

Master Gardeners from URI Cooperative Extension are growing connections with Rhode Island’s Indigenous community at the Pettaquamscutt Community Gardens, two miles from campus. An Indigenous-led, multigenerational non-profit garden, it uses traditional ancestral practices and heirloom seeds. The project is led by Indigenous community members, including Shirley Brown, URI Master Gardener, Class of 2022, and a Narragansett Tribal elder.

Melva Treviño Peña, assistant professor of Fisheries, Animal, and Veterinary Sciences, is bringing an important social science perspective to the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council. She will serve a four year term as the Fisheries Conservation and Management Representative, replacing Professor Michael A. Rice, Professor of FAVS, who had previously served for eight years.

Cooperative Extension is welcoming applications for the second year of a program that connects New England military veterans and beginning farmers with opportunities in agriculture. The University of Rhode Island Boots to Bushels program is a comprehensive nine-month market garden training program for beginning farmers, military veterans, and their family members.

The University of Rhode Island inducted 11 retired faculty and staff members–including three from CELS–into the Lifetime Service Society honoring them for 40 years or more of service to the University.

Awards recognize graduate leaders focused on science communication, public policy, and coastal resiliency and were selected based on academic achievement and demonstrated potential as future leaders.

Nic Fisk, assistant professor of cell and molecular biology, uses computational biology and bioinformatics to research cancer.

Associate Professor of Agroecology John Taylor’s research explores how urban farmers and gardeners are using alternative food networks, and the lessons that could be applied to broader food policy.

This month’s Teaching Excellence Spotlight features Michelle Peach, Clinical Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator for the Master of Environmental Science and Management Program. ” I hope students learn to see the natural world in new and interesting ways and that they develop a stronger personal connection to the natural world,” she says.