Speakers:
Kevin Nepveux, M.S.
VP, Launch Excellence
Pfizer

Kevin Nepveux is Vice President, Launch Excellence. Kevin’s responsibilities include the creation of new technology and manufacturing modalities to support the co-development and launch processes.  This function leads PGS Co-Development Teams and provides a single point of accountability for new product activities within PGS and to our internal stakeholders (WRD, Commercial Business Units). He joined Pfizer in 1980 at Groton, Connecticut, as a Production Supervisor in the penicillin area.  In 1985, he moved to R&D to work on azithromycin, danofloxacin and other projects.  Kevin managed the Groton Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient pilot plant until 1995, when he returned to manufacturing in a technical services position.  As manufacturing grew and became more specialized, he focused on technical and project management support for new products as part of Global Manufacturing Services (GMS).  For several years, he led a group within GMS working with Pfizer Global R&D and the PGS launch sites to develop and introduce new products. In his current position, Kevin leads the Global Technology Services organization in providing technical leadership and support for new and marketed products for all PGS customers.

Previous to his current role Kevin was Vice President, Global Technology Services. Kevin holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and an M.S. in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

James Jean, M.B.A.
Director, Temperature Control Logistics,
Pfizer Global Supply 

James Jean is the Director of Temperature Control Logistics for Pfizer Global Supply Chain. James leads a global team of engineers and technical subject matter experts responsible for Pfizer Global Supply Chain's temperature sensitive product portfolio. Most recently, James has successfully led his team in developing supply chain capabilities for the launch of the Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine across many global markets.

ATTN:
Questions are being collected in advance for our Georgia Tech, October 21, Pfizer lecture with Kevin Nepveux and James Jean.
Submit your question(s) HERE. 

This talk: The global lockdown to mitigate COVID-19 health risks both reduced human interactions with nature, while increasing interactions with animals indoors. We've documented the impacts of temporary human absence from nature on wild and domestic animal behaviors- some good, and some bad. Come hear about (and see in action!) how our furry, feathered, and scaly friends have responded to lockdown along with us.

Emily Weigel, Ph.D. (she/her) is currently a Senior Academic Professional in the School of Biological Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, in Atlanta, Georgia. Originally from Atlanta, Weigel earned dual doctorates from Michigan State University in Zoology and in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior. Now at Georgia Tech, she has received an incredible number of awards, many from student nominations that have recognized her passion and drive for their success. Dr. Weigel has helped develop several classes at Georgia Tech, including on Climate Change in Urban Spaces and Stream Ecology, and regularly studies factors governing student success. Her work in biology education, ecology, and conservation is regularly published in academic journals, and she is frequently a referenced source in academia, especially to help popular science audiences understand biology.

Michael Goodisman, Ph.D.
School of Biological Sciences
Georgia Institute of Technology

Attend BlueJeans Event

In February 2021, NASA's Perseverance rover landed successfully at the Octavia E. Butler Landing Site in the Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient open-system lake on Mars. Perseverance is seeking signs of ancient life, and is collecting Martian rock and soil samples for possible return to Earth by a future mission. Upon completing a 90-day commissioning phase, Perseverance embarked on an exploration and sampling campaign of the rocks and outcrops comprising the present-day floor of Jezero Crater. This abstract summarizes the mission results from Perseverance's first eight months on Mars, including the lead-up to the collection of the mission's first sample. 

Virtual talk: 11:25 a.m.-12:15 p.m. via Blue Jeans:  http://primetime.bluejeans.com/a2m/live-event/udqsqwfd

Social Event: 4-6 p.m., Molecular Science and Engineering Building, ground floor outdoor patio

In this fifth townhall of the Georgia Tech Covid-19 Surveillance Testing series, Greg Gibson and Joshua S. Weitz, Patton Distinguished Chairs and professors in Biological Sciences, will be joined by Nga Lee (Sally) Ng, professor in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, to provide updates and insights related to the new school year and fall semester. Participants will have an opportunity to pose questions during this virtual event. This townhall will be recorded, and a recap will be posted here following the event.

Join the event on BlueJeans by tapping this link.

Watch previous townhalls in this series:

• Covid-19 Testing, Vaccination, and Mitigation Townhall
  (May 5, 2021)
• Covid-19 Cases Rise, Holiday Travel and Stopping the Spread (November 16, 2020)
• Campus Surveillance Testing Update: Tracking Cases and Taking Action (September 10, 2020)
• Georgia Tech Surveillance Testing: Update and Early Interpretations (August 20, 2020)

Watch previous related talks:

• Covid-19 Response Efforts: Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech (April 16, 2020)
• Dynamics of COVID-19: Near- and Long-term Challenges with Joshua S. Weitz (April 15, 2020)
• Georgia Tech CMDI Science Forum Spotlights Coronavirus Outbreak (February 10, 2020)

This series is hosted by the School of Biological Sciences at Georgia Tech.

College of Sciences faculty, staff, graduate students, and postdocs will receive a calendar invitation for the virtual CoS Fall 2021 Plenary. Check your inbox for the BlueJeans Events link (search "CoS Fall 2021 Plenary"). The virtual event's agenda includes updates on the College's priorities, culture, business, searches, values, research, and more. An open Q&A will follow plenary presentations. Please join us!

A seminar course for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in learning the different types of methodological and applied research that is going on in the College of Sciences using data sciences (including machine learning, AI, network sciences, dynamics, probability and stats, etc.) No prerequisites required. 

Repeats every Friday through Nov. 19, 2021. A list of instructors for each Friday's seminar, along with more information, is available here. 

Steve Diggle, Ph.D.
School of Biological Sciences
Gerogia Institute of Technology

Livestream Seminar

SPEAKER BIO
Dr. Diggle graduated in Biological Sciences from the University of Salford before to undertaking a Ph.D. in molecular microbiology studying quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa at the University of Nottingham. He worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Nottingham on both EU and BBSRC funded grants, before obtaining a Royal Society University Fellowship. Diggle was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013 and in 2017 moved to the School of Biological Sciences at Georgia Institute of Technology as an Associate Professor.

Dr. Diggle currently serves as a Senior Editor on the editorial board of Microbiology. He has previously served on the editorial boards of FEMS Microbiology Letters, BMC Microbiology, Microbiology Open and Royal Society Open Science. Diggle was an elected member of the Microbiology Society Council (2012-2016) and served on their conference and policy committees. Most recently he was selected to be an American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer in 2021.

Will Overholt, Ph.D.
University of Jena

This seminar is offering in person (see location) and online options.

Livestream Seminar via BlueJeans

ABSTRACT
The terrestrial subsurface contains nearly all of Earth’s freshwater and harbors upwards of 60% of global prokaryotic biomass. While genetic surveys suggest these organisms rely on carbon fixation, rather than the translocation of surficial organic carbon, corroborating measurements of carbon fixation are absent. Using an ultra-low level 14C-labeling technique, we show that in situ carbon fixation rates reached 10% of the rates measured in oligotrophic marine surface waters, and were six-fold greater than those observed in lower euphotic zone waters. Normalizing rates according to estimated bacterial numbers revealed equivalent carbon input (i.e., 0.3 - 12 fg C per cell) for both systems, despite the fact that daily inputs of new POC were 40 times greater in marine waters than in groundwater. Empirical carbon fixation rates were stoichiometrically corroborated by both nitrification and anammox rate data. Metagenomic analyses revealed a remarkable abundance of putative chemolithoautotrophic members of an uncharacterized order of Nitrospiria and putative sulfur oxidizers with the Gammaproteobacteria, each exhibiting versatile metabolisms with access to numerous electron donor and acceptor sources. Applying these rates of carbon fixation to ecosystem processes alters the way we think about these environments and challenges the importance of surface-derived organic matter fluxes on shallow subsurface functioning.