2017 has been quite the roller coaster. In this blog post we outline some of the major events (good, bad, science, political, and other) that whizzed across our radar screens this year.
January
Femina Sciscitator launches Donald Trump's Inauguration Women’s March
NASA's Juno probe takes hi-resolution images of Jupiter
February Scott Pruitt confirmed as EPA Chair Oroville Dam floods
NASA telescope reveals seven planets orbiting a dwarf star 40 light-years from us; these planets represent the best targets outside of our solar system to search for life
March
Dodd et al. find the oldest microbial fossils to date suggesting that life on earth began in the oceans 3.77-4.28 million years ago.
Ashley, Mallory, and Alex's Death Valley Super Bloom Bust
Credit: Mallory Choudoir
April Neil Gorsuch confirmed as Supreme Court Justice People’s Climate March Science March
May
Sheila Saia defends her PhD thesis
June
Donald Trump withdraws US from Paris climate accord Governors from WA, NY, and CA form US Climate Alliance to continue toward Paris goals
Femina Sci holds our first virtual book club: "The Sea Around Us" by Rachel Carson
July
Julie Brown co-authors paper in Nature Communications titled “Improved genome recovery and integrated cell-size analyses of individual uncultured microbial cells and viral particles”
Sheila travels to Iceland to walk on some epic glaciers and see columnar basalt
Credit: Armanda Roco
August
Erin Eggleston starts a new faculty job at Middlebury College Total solar eclipse Heather Heyer killed at the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” Rally
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma
Armanda, Mallory, Annise reunite at ESA 2017 in Portland, OR
Mallory and Annise take a road trip to Seattle and Olympic National Park, eat blackberries, see whales, bald eagles, starfish, urchins, and hike the Hoh Rainforest and along the PNW coast
Mallory publishes a review paper in Trends in Microbiology titled "Genome surfing as a driver of microbial diversity"
Credit: Mallory Choudoir
September
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria
Cassini spacecraft mission ends
Mallory, Annise, and Ben summit 14'er Quandary Peak with mountain goats
Sheila and Mallory go to all the coffee shops and eat donuts and biscuits in Durham, NC
Mallory gives invited talk on soil VOCs at AgBiome in Research Triangle Park, NC
Ashley, Alex, and Mallory hike the Redwoods in Humboldt, CA
Credit: Mallory Choudoir
October
Hurricane Maria
Las Vegas shooting Russian bots on FB/Twitter #metoo goes viral on Twitter
Santa Rosa, CA fires Armanda Roco publishes paper in Biogeochemistry titled "Overcoming Entropy"
Paper published in PNAS debunks misconceptions regarding faculty productivity and age
November
Danica Roem elected in VA (along with many other small victories)
We Are Still In: continuing commitment to meet Paris Climate Accord goals from around the US Army and EPA Propose to Rescind 2015 Water Rule
Mallory publishes paper in Ecology titled "Variations in range size and dispersal capabilities of microbial taxa"
December Supreme Court upholds travel ban Doug Jones wins Alabama senate seat in special election Mueller Investigation leads to Michael Flynn guilty plea Ventura, CA fires Tax Plan Passes along party lines Annise Dobson submits her thesis, defense date set for Jan 17, 2018!
White House will not appeal transgender ban court rulings; transgender recruits can enlist in the US military
For other great recaps on 2017, check out the following:
The Vox's "Whoa, that's awesome" science highlights
The Daily podcast special episode- The Year in Sound
We hope you find some time to reflect on what 2017 has meant to you, and take some time to think about what's on the horizon in 2018.
Happy New Year!