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Professor to discuss suspended animation

Stephen H. Loomis, who holds the College's Jean C. Tempel '65 Professor of Biology Endowed Chair, will deliver a lecture titled "Thirty-five Years in Suspended Animation: Survival of Tough Environmental Challenges" on May 3.

In his talk, Loomis - who specializes in comparative biochemistry and physiology, invertebrate stress physiology, marine biology and tropical biology - will discuss organisms that are able to survive tough environmental conditions, such as freezing temperatures and desiccation, by entering a state of suspended animation. Some of these creatures include round worms (nematodes), water bears (tardigrades) and freshwater sponges.

The talk will focus on Loomis' latest work with freshwater sponge gemmules, for which he received a grant from the NSF.

He is a former provost and dean of the faculty at the College, a discussant in the College's Joy Shechtman Mankoff Center for Teaching and Learning and was named the Connecticut Professors of the Year by both the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2000. "I am honored to have received the Jean C. Tempel '65 Endowed Chair and I look forward to sharing my work with friends, students and colleagues," Loomis said. He will speak at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3, in the Ernst Common Room in Blaustein Humanities Center. The talk is free and open to the public.



April 29, 2011