Seminar Series
EEB hosts a weekly seminar series at 3:30 p.m. Thursdays during the academic year in the classroom in the EEB Hub - 1440 BPS (and occassionally in room 1420 BPS across the atrium from the EEB Hub when large crowds are expected). Throughout the year, the seminar committee solicits nominations of leading scholars whose research appeals to our diverse EEB community (link to nomination form). In the spring, the seminar committee invites speakers from this nomination pool for the next academic year.
The seminar series contains four special lecture types (nominated by EEB members): the Spartan Eminent Lecture by a prominent EEB leader outside of MSU; the Distinguished Alumni Lecture by an EEB alum with a celebrated research career; up to two Notable Dissertation Lectures by graduating EEB students to share their outstanding dissertation research; and up to two Career Exploration Panels with speakers discussing their career paths outside of academia.
Questions can be directed to the committee co-chair: Elizabeth Heath-Heckman and Chris Blackwood.
Spring 2026
February 5
Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States
NOTABLE DISSERTATION LECTURE
Wendy LeuenbergerIntegrative Biology, Michigan State University
Host: Elise Zipkin
February 12
Conserved mechanisms of visual perception: Lessons from the Four-Eyed fish Anableps anableps
Patricia SchneiderLouisiana State University
Host: Ingo Braasch
February 19
Little blind cavefish lead to big evolutionary insights
University of Minnesota
Host: Anne Bronikowski
February 26
Using female songbirds to investigate mechanisms and evolution of behavior
University of the Pacific
Host: Grace Smith Vidaurre
March 12
Integrated community models for conservation and management
Utah State University
Host: Wendy Leuenberger
March 19
The demography of kinship: The care and feeding of a population research program and why it might be useful
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
SPARTAN EMINENT LECTURE
Host: Chris Klausmeier
March 26
Deep multimodal occupancy modeling
Sara BeeryMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Host: Lydia Beaudrot
April 2
Infectious disease and the cognition and behavior of American crows
Andrea TownsendHost: Victor Penha
April 9
Hidden forces: Ecosystem impacts of shifts in common species interactions
Amanda KoltzUniversity of Texas – Austin
Host: Lauren Sullivan
April 16
EEB Core Faculty Meeting
Core faculty will recap the semester, discuss plans for the next academic year.
Fall 2025
September 11
EEB Town Hall
Join your fellow EEB members to learn about the many exciting activities to come during the new academic year!
September 18
Paradox, schmaradox: When robust phenotypes are evolvable phenotypes
Nate HardyAuburn University
Host: Hannah Burrack
September 25
Understanding soil community responses to global environmental change
Matt McCaryRice University
Host: Lauren Sullivan
October 2
Reconciling contingency and complexity in the evolution of behavior
Northern Michigan University
Host: Heather Eisthen
October 9
The major consequences of micro-evolution
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI LECTURE
University of Minnesota – St. Paul
Host: Rich Lenski
October 16
Testing the blueprint of understory bird extinctions in the tropics
Michigan Technological University
Host: Bruna Rodrigues do Amaral
October 23
Butterfly wing patterns: Genetics, evolution, and development
Cornell University
Host: Brooke Jeffery
October 30
Precision silviculture: Using LiDAR to inform thinning practices
David CarterForestry Department, Michigan State University
Host: Rich Kobe
November 6
November 13
Harnessing evolutionary principles to improve biological control
Marianna SzucsMichigan State University
Host: Henry Chung
November 20
An empiricist's journey in using ecological theory
Tess GraingerUniversity of Guelph
Host: Chris Klausmeier
December 4
EEB Core Faculty Meeting
Faculty will recap the semester, discuss plans for the next semester, and learn about new initiatives.