Val Smith, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, is the senior author of “Phytoplankton Species Richness Scales Consistently from Laboratory Microcosms to the World’s Oceans,” published recently in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Co-authors include Bryan Foster, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Jerry deNoyelles, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Sarah Tsoflias, a New Orleans graduate teaching assistant in geology, was one of four U.S. Interior Department employees to receive a departmental conservation award for exceptional contributions for their underwater seismic surveys studying the effect of loud sounds on whales and turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.

Six staff members of the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center presented sessions during the Region 7 National Academic Advising Association conference March 3-5 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Presentations included Jill Hieb and Corinne Anderson, “Helping Students Share Their Stories with Faculty”; Ryan Gove and Julie Riemann, “Rewriting the Story: Working with Probation Students to Find the Happy Ending”; Mark Mach, “Every Master Planner Has a Story”; and Jill Hieb and Erin Enneking, “Gaining Insight and Providing Better Service to Students of Color: A Discussion about Majority Culture Privilege.” This fall, Hieb, who is the center’s associate director, will become chair of Region 7.

Diana Carlin, dean of the graduate school and international programs, was elected president of the Central States Communication Association and organized its April 6-10 annual conference in Kansas City, where Carlin and 12 other KU faculty members made presentations.

Lynn L. Loveland, KU Endowment director of development for the School of Medicine-Wichita, and Maren E. Turner, a doctoral student in applied behavioral sciences and state director of AARP Kansas, were among 35 Kansans selected to be in the 2005 class of Leadership Kansas.

Diana Marrs, associate director of instructional development for the KU Edwards Campus, presented “The Highs and Lows of Media Streaming Solutions” at the spring 2005 Colleague to Colleague Forum April 7 at Cowley County Community College’s Southside Wichita campus.

Beverly Boyd, professor of English, presented “Chaucer’s Enterprising Great Grandmother, Isabella Malyn” Feb. 26 at the Mid-American Medieval Association Conference at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

David Bergeron, professor of English, presented “Shakespeare Rewritten: John Fletcher’s the Woman’s Prize” and “Shakespeare in the Closet” March 7 at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.

Eric C. Rath, assistant professor of history, presented the paper “The Fall and Rise of Urban Farming in Kyoto” in March at the annual meeting of the American Society for Environmental History in Houston. He also gave the paper “The Thought of Konparu Zenpô on the Performance of Shura Noh Plays” for the “Translations and Transformations: The Heike Monogatari in Noh” conference at Washington University in St. Louis and recently received a short-term research fellowship from the Japan Foundation.

“ Waiting Room, Rooms Waiting,” a multimedia installation by Carol Ann Carter, professor of art, opened April 4 in the Fairbanks Gallery at Oregon State University in Corvallis. The exhibit incorporates video projection, sound, digital prints and physical objects installed in the gallery.

Rud Turnbull, co-director of the Beach Center on Disability and professor of special education, testified April 6 before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which is considering a bill regarding health care provided to non-ambulatory people.

Patty Noland, career development coordinator for the journalism school, conducted two career-related workshops, “Start Your Career Early: How to Get an Internship” and “Sharpening Your Interviewing Skills,” for the students in the Consortium of Universities for International Study at Paderno del Grappa, Italy.