August 18, 2008

Two new faculty members join College of Science

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Two new faculty members joined the College of Science at Southern Illinois University Carbondale this fall.

The new faculty members, both of whom hold the rank of assistant professor, are in the departments of zoology and geology.

The new faculty member in zoology is Jesse Trushenski.

Trushenski earned her bachelor’s degree in biology in 2002 at Western Washington University. She earned her doctorate at SIUC in 2006 while working in the Fisheries and Illinois Aquaculture Center. She remains a faculty member there.

Trushenski’s research interests include the influence of stress and natural source vitamin E on innate immunity in hybrid striped bass. She has studied nutriceuticals and alternative foods in fish food and has conducted basic research describing the metabolism and other physiological process in fish. Overall, she concentrates on finding practical solutions for the aquaculture industry.

Trushenski currently studies nutritional and environmental influences on growth, immunity and stress tolerance on aquatic species. She also studies reproduction in aquatic species. She also is active with the U.S. Aquaculture and American Fisheries societies and will assume the presidency of the AFS Fish Culture Section in 2009.

The new faculty member in geology isJames A. Conder.

Conder earned his bachelor’s degree in geology in 1994 at the University of Utah. He worked a year with a mining firm before pursuing and earning his master’s degree in 1998 at Brown University in Providence, R.I. He went on to earn his doctoral degree at Brown University, as well, studying mantle dynamics and plate tectonic processes in the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Conder comes to SIUC from Washington University in St. Louis, where he worked as a research scientist in seismology and geodynamics, with an emphasis on subduction zones. Much of his work concentrates on understanding the various geological processes occurring along oceanic-continental boundaries. He also developed a class titled “Science in the Media” at Washington University, which examines the nexus of science, journalism and public policy.

At SIUC, Conder plans to work closely with faculty to build a research program that applies seismology and numerical methods to understanding mantle dynamics and plate tectonic processes. He also will represent the University on Gov. Blagojevich’s Seismic Hazards Task Force Committee, which formed in the wake of the earthquake near Mount Carmel in April. Conder will teach a course titled “Solid Earth Geophysics” this fall.