Thursday, the biology department will host a science seminar about “Managing fungal diseases in organically managed peanut fields.” The seminar will take place at 4 p.m. and last for at least an hour.

Dr. Diane Rowland, a University of Florida professor in the Department of Agronomy, was set to be the speaker, but unfortunately fell ill. In her place is VSU’s Dr. Emily G. Cantonwine, associate professor of biology.

“The purpose of this particular seminar is to highlight one of the research programs within the biology department at VSU,” Dr. Cantonwine said. “We use the Science seminar series to introduce students to various fields of research in the sciences.”

Students in the biology department are required to enroll in the senior seminar course and attend the science seminar. Most of the seminars bring in professors from other universities to speak, not just those who work at VSU.

“We hope that students and anyone that attends will learn something new from a field of science that they are not usually exposed to in their major,” Dr. Blaine L. Browne, associate professor of psychology, said. “It’s a great way to hear about new research that is being conducted in a wide variety of disciplines.”

As a plant pathologist, Dr. Cantonwine works closely with farmers and food production. Her specialty is fungal pathogens of peanuts.

The rest of the series and the next semester’s schedule can be found at: valdosta.edu/cas/scisem.