https://asgsa.pages.wm.edu/journal-club/

GSA Journal Club, Williamsburg, VA (2026)

04/17/2023

Good morning,

Already looking toward Thursday? Us too! This week, Journal Club is hosting Mindy Spence from Biology. Mindy's punny talk is titled "Is Diversity Dammed? Analysis of Fish Diversity in Dammed and Undammed Estuary Streams within the Virginia Peninsula Using Environmental DNA (eDNA)". Description below.

Event details:
When: Thursday, April 20th. Doors open at 5:30, Mindy's talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement)
What to bring: NON-WM ID and REUSABLE CUP
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

See you Thursday!

Mindy's Description:
Anthropogenic activities are the leading cause to biodiversity decline worldwide. It has been well documented that large dams disrupt dispersal and alter local habitat often leading to less diverse aquatic systems. Yet, it is not well known how much more numerous smaller dams impact fish communities in estuary systems where dispersal is a critical part of the ecosystem, or how dams affect variation in species composition across sites (beta diversity). Coastal waterways of Virginia are impounded by hundreds of small dams. Here we used eDNA (environmental DNA) to assess the alpha, beta, and gamma diversity of fish species within the Virginia Peninsula in the lower Chesapeake Bay to compare patterns of diversity between sites with an undammed connection to the estuary to diversity within dammed sites. More than 500 2-Liter samples of water were collected from 35 total sites, 16 undammed creeks and 19 dams. We documented 75 species of fish. We hypothesized that dams cause a local decrease in fish species richness by degrading local habitat and reduce dispersal by creating barriers. Undammed sites had significantly higher alpha diversity by about 7 species per site compared to dammed sites, meaning more species were found in undammed sites. Multivariate analysis showed that dams altered the species composition of fish communities. Furthermore, beta dispersion testing showed that undammed sites had higher beta diversity, meaning undammed sites have higher variability in species from site to site. Dammed sites showed similar species composition when compared to one another. Gamma diversity of these sites across the landscape showed that overall diversity was highest among undammed areas across the peninsula, average of 49 species in dammed sites compared to an average of 68 species in undammed sites. These results suggest that even small dams can disrupt dispersal in estuary networks leading to a loss of biodiversity across the landscape.

04/11/2023

The spring songbirds are out, and Joey Di Liberto might have something to say about that...Or at least about birds in Australia! This week's Journal Club speaker is Joey Di Liberto from Biology who is presenting on “Full Metal Sparrow": Investigating Behavioral Adaptation to Environmental Lead (Pb) Contamination in a Commensal Passerine.

It's a crazy time in the semester, but we hope Journal Club can offer you that much needed BREAK. Come out Thursday to get some pizza, talk to your buddies, and listen to great research. Don't forget your REUSABLE CUP :)

Event details:
When: Thursday, April 13th. Doors open at 5:30, Joey's talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement)
What to bring: NON-WM ID and REUSABLE CUP
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

See you there!

Description:
" I will be talking about the field portion of my thesis research. As part of a multi-university collaboration, I spent the past summer in a mining town deep in the Australian outback where there is genetic and physiological evidence to support a hypothesis that the House Sparrows living in the town have evolved specific adaptations to cope with the high levels of heavy metal pollution (But mostly Pb) found in the town. My research-building on this past/concurrent work-focused on if these adaptations would impact the birds' behavior. Against established knowledge on how Pb affects organisms (But in line with our hypotheses!), preliminary results show that the ecologically-relevant behavioral assessments I examined were not associated with environmental Pb levels. So...I'll be talking about that work as well as the background and some more results on concurrent work I'm running here at WM!"

03/22/2023

TOMORROW!
This week, Journal Club is excited to host Abigail Johnson from Anthropology. Abby will be taking us back to colder temps, all the way to Ireland, in her talk "And Me, So Long Unrisen": the Bog People of Ireland's National Museum.

** This presentation contains several images of human remains. Just a heads up, for those who may need to take extra care or plan their attendance accordingly.

Join us Thursday (3/23) in McGlothlin Hall 020 at 5:30 for pizza, drinks, and other goodies. And more importantly, to support Abby! Don't forget your REUSABLE CUP. No cup, no pour! 😬

Event details:
When: Thursday, March 23rd. Doors open at 5:30, talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement)
What to bring: NON-WM ID and REUSABLE CUP
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

***REMINDER: Next Thursday (3/30) is the 3 Minute Thesis competition. Do not come to McGlothlin Hall. We will be in the Commonwealth Auditorium at 5:30. Support your peers in this fun event and get some free food!!

Abby's description:
"For centuries, turf-cutters in the bogs of Ireland and Denmark have unearthed the remains of individuals whose preservation suggests that they have suffered a brutal and fairly recent death. As modern dating techniques have revealed, however, many of these "bog bodies" -- whose skin, clothes, fingernails, and even eyelashes remain startlingly intact -- are not victims of a recent event, but rather one that occurred hundreds or thousands of years ago. The unique conditions in anaerobic peat bogs like those found throughout Ireland allow for a remarkable degree of preservation of organic materials such as wood, cloth, flesh, berries, and even caches of Iron Age butter that remain (technically) edible. With a particular focus on the bodies included in Dublin's Kingship and Sacrifice exhibit, this talk will explore the making and remaking of "bog bodies" past and present, the haunting, mirror-like role they occupy in the popular imagination, and the boglands themselves as places of dangerous liminality."

Hope to see you Thursday!

03/06/2023

Good morning A&S,

This week, Journal Club is hosting several speakers! Some of our fellow graduate peers will be sharing their experiences leading and working with W&M Berks. W&M Berks is a research and outreach organization that addresses structural barriers to women and minority academics. At Journal Club, they will be speaking on "William & Mary Berks Affiliate and Humanities Outreach."

Join us Thursday (3/9) to support our colleagues in this work! As always, pizza and beer is on the house 😊

Event details:
When: THURSDAY, March 9th. Doors open at 5:30, talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement)
What to bring: NON-WM ID and REUSABLE CUP
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

Description: The William & Mary affiliate chapter is part of a national pilot program that aims to explore ways of addressing declining enrollment of the humanities generally, but with specific attention to the ways in which the discipline fails to recruit and retain all women and members of underrepresented groups. William & Mary was chosen as one of six institutions to pilot this program. Our chapter is focused on developing relationships across disciplines and with the local public to explore the value of historical work and career possibilities with a humanities degree. We will be giving a talk that will discuss the work we are doing in preparation for a presentation we are giving at a conference in the spring and again in the summer.

See you Thursday!

02/28/2023

Good evening,

Journal Club is back again this week, with our first speaker from Modern Languages! Uli Rittman is an International Fellow at William & Mary who focuses on American and Transnational Studies. This Thursday (3/2) his Journal Club talk will be on "Selective Memory - Native Americans and Jewish People in the German Cultural Memory". Description below.

Come out to McGlothlin Basement around 5:30 for pizza and drinks, and stick around for Uli's talk at 6:00.

Event details:
When: THURSDAY, March 2nd. Doors open at 5:30, Uli's talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement)
What to bring: NON-WM ID and REUSABLE CUP
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

Uli's abstract:
"I will talk about the portrayal of Jewish people and Native Americans in German cultural products and draw conclusions on the divergence of their cultural imagine in the collective memory of the majority of German society."

See you Thursday!

02/20/2023

Good morning A&S,

This week's Journal Club speaker is our very own Justin Cammarota-- fearless GSA president, gracious beertender, and the only reason we ever know what's going on in the graduate school.

Let's support Justin in the same way he supports us by coming out to hear his talk, "A Scattered Physicist Doing Scattering Physics".

As always, we'll gather on Thursday (2/23) around 5:30 to enjoy some food, drinks, and good times. BTW, don't forget your reusable cup!

Event details:
When: Thursday, Feb 23rd. Doors open at 5:30 for food & drinks. Justins's talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement)
What to bring: NON-WM ID and REUSABLE CUP
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

Looking forward to seeing you Thursday!

Abstract: Scattering physics affects our lives, from everyday scenarios like seeing a blue sky to powering the grid in nuclear reactors. It has also been a staple of exploring the frontiers of physics, currently used in particle experiments around the world to help us understand the basic structure of the universe. In this talk, I will give an overview of scattering, the theoretical physics tools used to describe them, and share how my own research on a new approach to radiative corrections can improve the theoretical predictions.

02/15/2023

We hope you enjoyed the GSA social this weekend! Please join us for another exciting Journal Club talk this Thursday (2/16). Victoria Gum from Anthropology will be sharing her work on "Excavating White Supremacy at the First Baptist Church". Description below.

BTW, don't forget your reusable cup!

Event details:
When: Thursday, Feb 16th. Doors open at 5:30 for food & drinks. Victoria's talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement)
What to bring: NON-WM ID and REUSABLE CUP
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

Victoria's talk description:
The current ongoing archaeology project at Williamsburg's First Baptist Church is an ethical, community-driven research project, but this was not the case for the first archaeology project at that site. In the 1950s-60s, archaeological excavation was part of a system of silences that erased the church not only from the physical landscape but also from narratives of Williamsburg's history. I examine the built landscape around the FBC site to demonstrate how Colonial Williamsburg shaped visitors' interactions with the space and how archaeology can be used as both a tool of erasure and a tool of vindication.

See you peeps Thursday!

02/06/2023

Thanks to all who came out for our 1st meeting last week. The energy was great, so let's keep it up! BTW-- we have basically given up on our 'department attendance contest', seeing as physics is leagues and galaxies ahead of everyone else. Looking to change that, though?? Bring a friend to JC!!

We are excited to have a guest speaker from WM's Music Library this week. Joining us on Thursday (2/9) is Brigid Cryan, who is giving a talk about why "The Internet is Handmade". Abstract below.

Event details:
When: Thursday, Feb 9th. Doors open at 5:30 for food & drinks. Brigid's talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement)
What to bring: NON-WM ID and REUSABLE CUP
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

** Interested in presenting at JC? Here are remaining available dates: 3/23, 4/6, 4/20, 4/27, 5/4. Message us for the sign-up form.

See you Thursday!!

Brigid's Abstract:
"A descriptive and synthetic observation on the evolving craft of social network engineering, an exercise in symbolic daydreaming rather than an investigation into a subject. Poignant symbols in the yarn I will spin include: the oracle, the cyborg, the loom."

01/30/2023

Welcome back to campus, A&S!

Lots of great energy so far this semester-- let's keep it going at Journal Club this week. This Thursday (2/2), our guest speaker is Jack Gabriel from Physics. Some might also know him as our fearless GSA parliamentarian.

Yet, instead of driving home the GSA rulebook, Jack will be presenting on some ideas related to climate change, in a talk titled "Nuclear Fusion: Future or Fantasy?". Abstract below.

Please join us for Jack's talk in McGlothlin Hall 020. Doors open at 5:30 PM for drinks and pizza. Jack's talk will begin at 6. REMEMBER YOUR REUSABLE CUP AND ID, PLEASE! We are unable to offer plastic/paper cups anymore, per WM policy, and we cannot let you in without proof that you over 21.. Thanks :)

Zoom link for our virtual audience:https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

See you THURSDAY!

Jack's Abstract:
"With the recent shot at the National Ignition Facility piquing interest in nuclear fusion, its relevance will only continue to grow as it goes from obscure science experiment to fully realized energy source. So instead of boring everyone with my currently nonexistent research, the goal of this talk will be to ensure everyone is well versed on our best bet in the fight against climate change: nuclear fusion and its promise of limitless, clean energy."

12/05/2022

Good morning,

It's hard to believe, but we have arrived at our FINAL Journal Club presentation! Ringing in the end of the school and calendar year is Will Miyahira from Physics👏 Join us this Thursday (12/8) for Will's talk titled in pure pun fashion "Let's Get Physics Cold".

Come out to represent your department and try to beat physics in attendance numbers (although it's probably not likely...). Remember your reusable cup, too!

Event details:
When: Thursday, Dec 8. Doors open at 5:30. Will's talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement).
What to bring: ID showing age (not WM ID), reusable cup, and a cheerful attitude.
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

Thanks again, Will, for closing out a great semester with Journal Club. Can't wait for your talk!

Will's abstract:
"In this talk I will give an overview of how my lab routinely uses a combination of lasers and magnetic fields to cool and trap a collection of atoms to a billion times colder than room temperature."

11/30/2022

We hope you had an eventful yet restful holiday break. Only 2 more Journal Club meetings remain this semester, can you believe it!

Please join us this Thursday to 1) celebrate the start of December ⛄ and 2) much more importantly, listen to a great talk from Kate Brock in Anthropology. Kate's presentation is titled "Bridget Cleary Isn't Burning Here".

Remember your REUSABLE CUP, please. We have the drinks— let us give them to you!! 😎

Event details:
When: Thursday, Dec 1. Doors open at 5:30. Kate's talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement).
What to bring: ID showing age (not WM ID), reusable cup, and a cheerful attitude.
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

See you all Thursday!!

Kate's Abstract:
This paper explores the lived experiences of Bridget Cleary with the assistance of a feminist folklorist historiography that chronicles her labor as a dressmaker in rural Ireland at the turn of the 19th century. I problematize the methods and practices of storytelling and the archival treatment of Cleary past and present in the field of Folklore through the employment of her sewing machine.

11/14/2022

We hope you all had fun at Grad Bash this past weekend. In the spirit of keeping up with the other graduate schools, Journal Club is hosting a presenter from VIMS this Thursday (11/17)!

Please join us for a talk by Malina Loeher, a 4th year PhD candidate in the Aquatic Health Sciences Department at VIMS. Malina's talk is titled "Something’s Fishy about Virulence Evolution". Abstract below.

Event details:
When: Thursday, Nov 17. Doors open at 5:30. Malina's talk begins at 6.
Where: McGlothlin 020 (basement).
What to bring: ID showing age (not WM ID) and reusable cup !! We cannot give out cups anymore, so please remember your own.
Zoom link: https://cwm.zoom.us/j/3316007236

See you all Thursday!!

Malina's Abstract:
Commercial aquaculture, including fish farms and hatcheries, is a rapidly expanding industry that provides sustainable aquatic foods and millions of jobs worldwide. The aquaculture sector’s biggest barrier to continued growth is emergent diseases. Aquaculture provides novel environmental conditions for pathogens compared to wild settings, and these unique settings may shape pathogen evolution, altering how fast pathogens may spread or how much damage they may cause to hosts. Within rainbow trout aquaculture, the most serious pathogen is infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), a lethal virus endemic to the Pacific Northwest region of North America. This talk will use the host-pathogen system of IHNV and fish to explore how a virus can evolve through space and time, addressing both system-specific and fundamental virology questions. Can evolutionary theory predict how a virus will evolve once it jumps to a new host? Will it become more or less deadly? And how can fish disease research inform public health?

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