KINGSTON, R.I. – November 12, 2009 – As part of the University of Rhode Island’s continuing celebration of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his On the Origin of Species, Rutgers University Professor Debashish Bhattacharya will present a lecture on Nov. 16 entitled “Genomic Approaches to Understanding Red Tide.”

The lecture is free and open to the public and will be held in the Thomas M. Ryan Family Auditorium in the URI Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences at 7:30 p.m.

Bhattacharya is a professor of ecology, evolution and natural resources who studies the evolution and genomics of algae. He was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2007 and awarded the Darbaker Prize from the Botanical Society of America in 2008 for his contributions to an international tree of life project. Prior to joining the faculty of Rutgers University in 2008, Bhattacharya was associate professor of biological sciences at Iowa State University, where he also served as director of its interdisciplinary doctoral program in genetics. He also holds an adjunct scientist position at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The lecture series is sponsored by the University’s Alexander M. Cruickshank Endowed Lectureship, the College of the Environment and Life Sciences, the College of Pharmacy, the Honors Program, and the URI chapters of Sigma Xi and Phi Beta Kappa.

For additional information, contact Dr. Christopher Lane at clane@mail.uri.edu or 401-874-2683.