Science Seminars Open with Focus on Environmental Issues

The first Suter Science Seminar of the fall semester will feature a presentation on the environmental impact of agricultural fertilizer runoff and possible ways to address the issue.

Rory O. Maguire, Ph.D.
Rory O. Maguire, Ph.D.

Rory O. Maguire will speak 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12 in room 104 of the Suter Science Center on “Moving Towards Phosphorus-Based Nutrient Management Plans: Issues and Options.”

Dr. Maguire is an assistant professor in the department of crop and soil environmental sciences at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg.

“The problem of agricultural fertilizer run-off and the resultant pollution of our local streams and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay is an issue for area farmers and agribusiness persons,” said Roman J. Miller, Daniel B. Suter professor of biology at EMU. “Dr. Maguire will describe this problem but also offer some practical stewardship solutions that enhance the environment.

“This seminar will be of special interest to students, environmentalists and local agriculturalists,” Dr. Miller added.

Other scheduled seminars focus on similar environmental issues like “Food and Our Future: Hope and Solutions through Biointensive Farming“, “Environmental Ethics and Christian Theology” and “Climate Change and Human Evolution: Evidence from the Fossil Record of East Africa.”

The seminar series is sponsored by the Daniel B. Suter Endowment. Dr. Suter joined the EMU science faculty in 1948 and became head of the biology department and developed the pre-med program. He retired in 1985 and died in 2006.

Refreshments will be served 15 minutes prior to the presentation.

Admission to the program is free. For more information, contact Roman J. Miller, (540) 432-4412 or millerrj@emu.edu.