Catawba College Sciences

08/21/2026

🐦 Catawba Science Takes Flight!

Congratulations to Catawba College Biology Chairperson Dr. Joe Poston, lead PI on a NC Biotechnology Center-funded Motus wildlife-tracking initiative that is expanding our ability to study bird migration across the North Carolina Piedmont.

Working with collaborators including at Davidson College and Queens University, Dr. Poston and his students are using the international Motus Wildlife Tracking System to follow the movements of migratory birds and contribute to a growing network of conservation research. Catawba Environment and Sustainability faculty Dr. Andrew Jacobson and Dr. Bahy Abdelmesih are also collaborators on the project.

The project received some great statewide attention this week, with a story from WFAE that was picked up by other NC NPR affiliates.

https://www.wfae.org/energy-environment/2026-08-19/north-carolina-scientists-are-tracking-birds-through-the-sky-during-migration

https://www.salisburypost.com/2026/08/20/fly-high-piedmont-colleges-launch-collaborative-wildlife-tracking-effort-to-map-migratory-birds/

Great research, collaboration, and hands-on opportunities for our students! 🐦📡

SALISBURY — A new collaboration between Catawba College, Davidson College and Queens University is bringing the secret migrations of birds into focus. Led by Joe Poston, professor of biology at […]

08/15/2026

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fincompleatnaturalist.blogspot.com%2F2026%2F08%2Fduckweed-arrives.html%3Fspref%3Dfb%26fbclid%3DIwcGRvZgVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFjU1pyRndOZGdQcWd4aFVsc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHl7u_Ig8amwFk0sR-3GHhkybkbirG9mb1E4mvkDNyX8CSoChoGpZ0YBn1tpy_aem_E7ADbD3sSlbu_so5Q2rlXw&h=AUA9k66ErIX9OVqa36-_1fe24pNDBeQOmiZJZh4xds4xcBBMK4cGHALX83k5BzeIWFj4l0H5cSYCXSe90M3qMKtMaTL3niVgZWCOE_t2ntvQWdAJ1mCndWgT2owA72CITQKCm7bab7SA&__tn__=H-R&c[0]=AUBAn0DIJDE8aex3sm1N9cbFjYjXOCyfCoYMXZCrElNSWaWQ_85hihtG3QNdXGw473skojMYPRVLl67mNL1bdSeghcYm5FKxq_O1Ms_bccZaumewjCp6lmcNnARfIWQq9ulSLx3ibXuO0nD4yk1wQxJvvLTPPI1B2uuaAxe9WU3Y6FKITtQ

08/12/2026

🔬🏆 Catawba Science Shines on the National Stage! 🏆🔬

Catawba College students and faculty traveled over the summer to Tallahassee, Florida, for the 2026 Beta Beta Beta (TriBeta) National Convention at Florida State University, joining undergraduate scientists from across the country to share research and celebrate scientific discovery.

Our contingent represented Biology, Chemistry, and Environment & Sustainability, with students Sam Giraldo, Jacy Noble, Alex Baquie, Luke Roberts, Hailee Smith, and McKenzie Peurifoy presenting an impressive six research posters and oral presentations!

And they brought home some national recognition! 🏅

🌿 Luke Roberts — 1st Place, John C. Johnson Ecology, Environment and Organismal Poster Presentation
Research Mentor: Dr. Amanda Rushing

🧬 Jacy Noble — 3rd Place, John C. Johnson Molecular and Microbiology Poster Presentation
Research Mentor: Dr. Erin Witalison

🏆 Catawba College Tau Eta Chapter — 3rd Place nationally, Lloyd M. Bertholf Award for Chapter Excellence, recognizing the chapter’s outstanding work during 2024–2025.
Chapter Advisors: Dr. Erin Witalison and Dr. Amanda Rushing

Our students were joined by faculty mentors Dr. Amanda Rushing, Dr. Erin Witalison, Dr. Carmony Hartwig, and Dr. Jay Bolin, with Dr. Hartwig also representing Catawba in her role as National President of Beta Beta Beta.

From classrooms and laboratories at Catawba to presenting research on the national stage, we couldn’t be prouder of these students, their faculty mentors, and the Tau Eta Chapter of TriBeta! Go Catawba Science! 🧬🌱🔬

08/01/2026

https://incompleatnaturalist.blogspot.com/2026/08/the-ancient-caledonia-forest.html

07/31/2026

🧬 GENOMES IN THE WILD! 🌿💻🚀

This week, rising high school juniors and seniors stepped into the world of genomics at Catawba College at the Bill and Shari Graham Genomics Laboratory.

Led by an outstanding team of scientists and entrepreneurs—Dr. Peter Schafran of Duke University; Pabel Delgado, founder and CEO of Asterism Healthcare; and Dr. Francisco Camacho, director of Catawba’s Bill and Shari Graham Genomics Laboratory—students explored the entire journey from environmental discovery to real-world innovation.

Campers are collecting environmental DNA, applying next-generation sequencing, and using bioinformatics to interpret assemble whole genomes and interpret environmental DNA (eDNA). But the experience does not stop at the laboratory door: students are also learning how scientific discoveries can become viable products, companies, and sustainable solutions through entrepreneurship and business development.

Genomics. Bioinformatics. Environmental sustainability and discovery. Entrepreneurship.

That is what happens when science and business come together—and it is an extraordinary opportunity for the next generation of innovators!

🔬 Offered through the Bill and Shari Graham Genomics Laboratory, Ketner School of Business, and Catawba College Center for the Environment.

07/15/2026

https://incompleatnaturalist.blogspot.com/2026/07/whence-flowers.html

Zebra Swallowtail ( Eurytides marcellus ) on West Indian Lantana ( Lantana camara ). Rowan County, North Carolina. High summer is upon us,...

07/09/2026

If you know rising Jr or Sr High School students interested the intersection of the Environment and Genomics, have them check out our Genomes in the Wild: Exploring the Environment with Next Generation Sequencing Workshop- no fee for the activity! Day Camp July 27-31, at Catawba College's Center for the Environment.

Now being offered for Free!
Apply now at https://www.catawba.edu/explorations/
Check out this amazing summer opportunity for Rising Juniors and Seniors in High School who are interested in Genomics research. Students will learn to use the high-tech equipment in the Graham Genomics Lab in the Shuford Science Building at Catawba College.
Original cost - $450 / Now FREE!
To learn more, visit https://www.catawba.edu/explorations/

07/07/2026

Congrats to our student Baydn Sweatt, for winning an Association of Southeastern Biologists Undergraduate Research Grant, for the proposal “A Moth Bucket List: A Survey of Nocturnal Lepidopterans in the North Carolina Piedmont."

07/01/2026

https://incompleatnaturalist.blogspot.com/2026/07/sea-cliffs-of-shetland-part-2.html

Northern Gannet ( Morus bassanus ). Isle of Noss, Shetland, Scotland. Shetland is a group of islands north of the mainland of Scotland. ...

05/15/2026

The Center for the Environment and the Department of Environment & Sustainability will be hosting exciting Summer Explorations for students in Grades 3-8. Please share and learn more at https://www.catawba.edu/explorations/