Events

DeFord Lecture | Tianna Bruno

Environmental Injustice and Ecological Memory in the Biophysical Afterlife of Slavery by Dr. Tianna Bruno, UT Austin’s Department of Geography and the Environment.

Abstract: This talk draws together concepts in Black geographies and critical physical geography to examine the linkages between racial and environmental histories in Black environmental justice communities along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Specifically, this talk considers the notion of ecological memory, a natural science concept that refers to how past states or processes influence present or future responses in ecological communities, and its compatibility with threads within Black geographies and Black studies, in particular the afterlife of slavery. The afterlife of slavery refers to the precarity and devaluation of Black life set in motion by chattel slavery. Heeding calls within critical physical geography to take seriously the biophysical and social co-constitution of landscapes, I put forth the concept of the biophysical afterlife of slavery to describe how the precarity and devaluation of Black life has impacted the natural environments in which these Black lives exist. In this talk, I will discuss a framework I have developed that draws together the reconstruction of environmental histories with analyses of the past, present, and future of the biophysical afterlife of slavery: using dendrochronology and trees as archives of the biophysical afterlife of slavery, as well as witnesses to Black life and sense of place in environmentally precarious spaces over time. This research focuses on a case study of Port Arthur, Texas, a historically Black community nestled in what the US Environmental Protection Agency calls “the largest oil refinery network in the world”.

DeFord Lecture Series
Since the 1940’s, the DeFord (Technical Sessions) lecture series, initially the official venue for disseminating EPS graduate student research, is a forum for lectures by distinguished visitors and members of our community. This is made possible through a series of endowments.

Faculty Meeting

EPS Awards Ceremony

TBD - Bureau Seminar Series

Bureau Seminar Series

WCE Seminar | Nilay Dogulu - RCRC Climate Centre

Speaker: Nilay Dogulu (Consultant research lead at Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre and independent researcher)

Title: Applications of Clustering Methods in Hydrology

Zoom link: https://utexas.zoom.us/j/93865487444

Bureau Seminar Series - Zoltan Sylvester, PhD, Bureau QCL

Bureau Seminar Series

Doctoral Defense | Anna Turetcaia

The final doctoral examination for ANNA TURETCAIA has been scheduled for MAY 13; 2:00pm; JGB 4.102 (Barrow Family Conference Room) AND VIRTUAL..

The PhD project “Aerobic Metabolism Of Organic Matter Across The Terrestrial-Aquatic Interface Through The Lens Of Flume Experiments and Models” was supervised by Dr. Bayani Cardenas.

Committee members include:

Adam Kessler

Daniel O Breecker

Philip C Bennett

Matthew H. Kaufman

Zoom link:  https://utexas.zoom.us/j/99293373966

The defense is open to all members of the University community and the public.

Hot Science At Home "Finding Ancient Water"

Caves with their luminous rock formations fascinate both explorers and scientists. But trapped in these glittering crystals are tiny droplets of water that have preserved what rain and snow were like thousands of years ago. Dr. Isabel Montañez shares her fascinating research in creating a timeline for Northern California’s climate history going back nearly 20,000 years.

Isabel Montañez is a paleoclimatologist whose research focuses on reconstructing past climates, in particular those during major warming periods. Dr. Montañez is a professor at the University of California, Davis. She has been president of the Geological Society of America and currently is the Director of the UC Davis Institute of the Environment.

Time: 7:00 – 7:40 p.m.

The event will be streamed live through our Facebook and YouTube channels and will include a Q&A session with Dr. Montañez!

JSG Graduation Breakfast

Please join us for a breakfast for JSG students/ faculty/guests

Jackson School of Geosciences, 2305 Speedway, Holland Family Center, JGB 2.102

JSG Graduation

Friday, May 20, 2022 – 12:00pm – 1:30pm
Bass Concert Hall

The Jackson School of Geosciences holds commencement ceremonies each May to honor the graduates and candidates of the entire academic year. The May 2022 commencement ceremony includes Fall 2021, Spring 2022 and approved Summer 2022 graduates. Attendance at the school graduation ceremony is optional.