March 15, 2020 Update:  The Minnesota Section of AIPG has cancelled this event. Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz announced the Minnesota Department of Health's community mitigation strategies on March 13, 2020.  One item, "cancelling or postponing smaller events (those with less than 250 people) that are held in settings that do not allow social distancing of 6 feet per person," applies to our events.  Although we could webcast this talk, we are still in the testing stages of webcasting and we haven't been able to test a remote speaker.  In addition, our planned speaker is a student and is now uncertain of her schedule.  We will reschedule her talk for the 2020/2021 season.

If you have already registered for this talk, AIPG MN will contact you to process a refund or a credit to a future meeting.

The Minnesota Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience, and Interior Design (MN Board of AELSLAGID) reminds those renewing their licenses and who have not yet earned all their Continuing Education (CE) credits for the period of July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2020 (or prior to when you apply to renew, whichever is first) that CE credits may by earned via remote learning, as well as in-person. Televised or videotaped courses, webinars, and other self-study courses, and distance-learning college courses are among the many CE formats available.

The Geoscience Online Learning Initiative (GOLI) by the American Geosciences Institute, started in cooperation with AIPG, provides a platform for on-demand, life-long learning and continuing education opportunities in the geosciences. These courses are free for AIPG members! GOLI on-demand online courses provide learners with the flexibility to self-pace their progress, since on-demand courses do not have a set schedule like traditional academic semester-based courses. Brought to you via the OpenedX Learning Management System (LMS), learners are able to browse course descriptions, enroll in specific courses, access content, and complete any course completely free of charge. All learners who complete online courses offered through the GOLI platform with a passing grade of 70% or higher are eligible to purchase Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for a nominal charge. Please note that 0.10 CEU is generally equal to 1 professional development hour (PDH).

Sample On-Demand Courses by AIPG Members

• Well Re-Development in New England 
  
• Fundamentals of Professional Ethics: Elements and Examples 
  
• The Development of Geoscience-related Ethics Codes 
  
• Converting Membrane Interface Probe Sensor Results into VOC NAPL Distribution Information 
  
• Techniques for Developing High Resolution LNAPL Conceptual Site Models 
  
• Best Practices in Mineral Resource Estimation & Reporting 
  
• The Basics of Seismic Petroleum Exploration for New Hires
  
• The Lower Cretaceous of Texas 
  
• Well Logs and Log Analysis for New Hires 
  
• An Introduction to Landslides and Mass Wasting 

Other interesting courses:

• An Introduction to Professional Writing for Geoscience Careers
• Tracking Global Supply Critical Materials
• Basics of Seismic Petroleum Exploration for New Hires
• Best Practices in Mineral Resource Estimation & Reporting
• Fundamentals of Professional Ethics: Elements and Examples
• Professional Geologist Licensure Requirements and the ASBOG National Geology License Examinations
• Understanding Professional Geologist License Requirements: California 2019

Click here for a full course listing.

Registration for the April meeting is now open online! The cost is $21 for non-members and $16 for members of AIPG or AWG when registering before Monday, April 6, 2020 at 11:00 AM. Students may attend free of charge by registering in advance.  Same day registration is $25.  As always, non-members and non-geologists are welcome to attend!   

The April luncheon is co-hosted by the the American Institute of Professional Geologists Minnesota Section (AIPG MN Section) and the Minnesota Chapter of the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG MN Chapter)!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE RADISSON HAS CHANGED TO A DOUBLETREE BUT THE MEETING VENUE/LOCATION REMAINS THE SAME!

Using Common Soil Fungi to Remove Selenium from Industrial & Municipal Wastewaters!

by Mary Sabuda, M.Sc., Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, MnDRIVE & BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota

Presentation Abstract

Selenium (Se) plays a key role in human and ecosystem health as it is an important trace element for most life yet is an element of increasing environmental concern due to its toxicity in high concentrations. The bioavailability, toxicity, and mobility of Se through the environment is controlled by the form present. The Se forms common in oxic surface environments are Se(VI) and Se(IV), which are highly water soluble and bioavailable. Anthropogenic activities such as coal mining, processing, and combustion for electricity are especially problematic for increasing environmental Se concentrations to hazardous levels. Current strategies for removing Se from contaminated environments and wastewaters are expensive and inefficient, but recently some common soil fungi have been shown to efficiently remove Se from solution by reducing dissolved Se(+IV/VI) to form immobile solid Se(0) and less hazardous volatile Se(-II) under atmospheric conditions. Recent insights from bench scale culture experiments of these fungi grown under ideal (nutrient-rich) conditions, as well as in industrial (coal fly ash) and municipal (battery recycling) wastewater will be presented. As very little is understood about the chemical and genetic mechanism(s) of these fungal Se transformations over time, results from these studies will provide essential information for engineering an efficient, cost-effective Se bioremediation strategy.

Biography

Mary Sabuda has a bachelor’s degree in geology and a master’s degree in geomicrobiology from Michigan State University. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Minnesota (UMN) investigating the potential for common soil fungi to clean up contaminants such as selenium (Se) from polluted environments related to mining and other industrial processes. Se is an essential micronutrient for most organisms, however, excessive Se can cause serious pollution to the environment and bring severe risk and damage to human health. Mary combines her background in geology with molecular biology techniques to understand the metabolic pathways involved with fungal Se transformations, in order to optimize any future remediation strategy. Outside of her research, Mary is active in science communication and is currently a writer and editor for Sciworthy. She is also involved with a few women in science groups, including the Association of Women Geoscientists, and recently helped to organize the first Women in STEM summit at UMN to connect all advocates for women in science across campus.