Rogers State University will present two lectures in November as part of its new RSU Talks lecture series. The series is designed to promote dialogue about important issues. Both events are free and open to the public.
Dr. James Ownby, a nature photographer who has journeyed across the globe, will present his talk “Birds around the World” and show examples of his work. Ownby’s lecture is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6 in the Will Rogers Auditorium at RSU.
Ownby is a former botany professor at Oklahoma State University who retired in 2000. He has journeyed to many places including the Sierra Madres, Ecuador, Fiji, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Canada, Costa Rica, Brazil and South Africa to photograph wildlife.
Dr. Asti Wayadande will present the second lecture in the series at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11 in the Will Rogers Auditorium.
Wayadande’s talk “Working to Protect the Nation’s Food Supply, Plant Microbe Investigators: Forensics and Plant Pathology” will explore issues surrounding food safety in the United States.
Wayadande is the assistant director of the National Institute for Microbial Forensics and Food and Agricultural Biosecurity at Oklahoma State University. The Institute works to keep the nation’s food supply safe and secure by setting policies and providing education.
More information about the lectures is available by calling the RSU Department of Biology at (918) 343-7695. More information about National Institute for Microbial Forensics and Food and Agricultural Biosecurity is available by visiting the Institute’s site www.entoplp.okstate.edu/nimffab.