Christopher X J. Jensen
Professor, Pratt Institute

Republicans release climate change plan based on “Respiration Reduction”

Posted 01 Apr 2017 / 0

Like a lot of important policy these days, it all started with an early morning tweet from President Donald Trump: What did the tweet mean? Could it be possible that the Trump administration had a plan to deal with climate change? And what does climate change have to do with microbes and antibiotics? Environmentalists, political Read More

A Major Post, Anthropogenic Change, Climate Change, Decomposition, Ecology, Ethics, Public Policy, Sustainability, System Stability

Stunning archaeological find shocks the Pratt Photography Department

Posted 01 Apr 2017 / 0

The discovery of a rare photographic artifact sent the Pratt Photography Department into hysterics of nostalgia “I was just smoking my usual mid-morning cigarette outside the door of the ARC Building — a full 25 feet away from the doors, mind you — when I looked down and saw it,” explained second year Pratt Photography Read More

A Minor Post, Archaeology, Cultural Anthropology, Photography, Pratt Institute

Green Week 2017 opens at Pratt Institute

Posted 24 Mar 2017 / 0

Pratt Institute’s Green Week, a celebration of sustainability, starts tomorrow! I am excited to be working with my colleague Andy Todd to bring Dr. Roland Kays, a wildlife biologist who specializes in the use of camera traps, to Pratt’s campus for Green Week. You can read more about Dr. Kays’ visit here. To learn more Read More

A Minor Post, Activism, Anthropogenic Change, Art & Design, Center for Sustainable Design Studies, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Ecology Education, Envirolutions, Environmental Justice, Pratt Institute, Public Policy, Sustainability, Sustainable Pratt

Support the mighty Bombardier Beetle’s quest to have its genome sequenced!

Posted 20 Mar 2017 / 0

A good friend and former colleague of mine, Aman Gill, now works on Bombardier Beetles. And the Bombardier Beetle is in the running for a unique award: having its genome sequenced. How will the Bombardier Beetle win this award? Well, folks, we are pretty well into the new millenium by now, so you probably have Read More

A Minor Post, Adaptation, Behavior, Convergence, Evolution, Experiments (General), Genetics, Natural Selection, Public Outreach, Science (General), Uncategorized

Dr. Roland Kays to speak about conservation biology and camera trapping as part of Pratt’s Green Week celebration

Posted 15 Mar 2017 / 0

I am proud to be collaborating with Photography Labs Manager and Assistant Professor Andy Todd to bring Dr. Roland Kays of North Carolina State University to Pratt Institute. Dr. Kays will make two appearances on the Brooklyn campus during the annual Green Week celebration: On Thursday, March 30th at 6 pm in ARC E-2, Dr. Kays will Read More

A Major Post, Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, Biodiversity Loss, Birds, Canids, Citizen Science, Community Ecology, Conservation Biology, Department of Mathematics & Science, Experiments (General), Felids, Hypothesis Testing, Photography, Population Pressure, Primates, Public Outreach, Sustainability

Urban Wildlife Podcast on the Cat Wars

Posted 10 Mar 2017 / 0

If you read my little podcast recommendations on this site, you know that I am a huge fan of the Urban Wildlife Podcast. I just checked out one of the most recent episodes, Cat Wars (also embedded as audio above), and it is my favorite far and away. Tony and Billy always bring a great Read More

A Minor Post, Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, Belief, Commensalism, Conservation Biology, Ethics, Felids, Invasive Species, Law, Mutualism, Population Growth, Predation, Public Policy, Radio & Podcasts, Temperate Forest, Urban Ecology

Like boats & science?… this might be the artist’s residency for you!

Posted 13 Feb 2017 / 0

Image courtesy of the Schmidt Ocean Institute Artists with an interest in marine biology and oceanography might want to apply for this residency: https://schmidtocean.org/apply/artist-residency-program/ The deadline is February 24th, 2017, so if you are interested apply now! These sorts of science/art collaborations are becoming more and more common and represent a great way to adventurously Read More

A Minor Post, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Experiments (General), Marine Ecosystems, Public Outreach, Science in Art & Design

Science and art in dialogue: Pratt Manhattan Gallery hosts Dr. Rachael Winfree

Posted 02 Feb 2017 / 0

I am proud to have contributed to an exciting event happening next Thursday, February 9th, 2017 at 6 pm at Pratt Manhattan Gallery. For the past two months this prominent on-campus gallery has featured a show called Nectar: War upon the Bees. The show contains a great variety of works that engage questions of agricultural sustainability, human Read More

A Minor Post, Anthropogenic Change, Art & Design, Biodiversity Loss, Community Ecology, Film & Video, Food, Habitat Destruction, Habitat Fragmentation, Hymenoptera, Installation Art, Interactions, Mutualism, Photography, Pollination, Pollution, Pratt Institute, Science in Art & Design, Sculpture, Sustainability, Sustainable Agriculture

Eco 101: Exponential Growth & Decay

Posted 27 Jan 2017 / 0

Different rates of positive and negative growth create different population trajectories over time In biology, a population is a group of organisms that belong to the same species and occupy a defined land area (or volume of air or water). These populations have the tendency to grow and shrink over time. This is because the rate at which members of Read More

A Major Post, Eco 101, Ecology, Intrinsic Growth Rate, Population Growth

Urban Wildlife Podcast on Hedgehogs, Raccoons, and Urbanite Biophilia

Posted 16 Jan 2017 / 0

My Spring semester is almost upon me, and that means a lot of mindless computer work getting my classes configured. I love these moments, because they give me the chance to catch up on my favorite podcasts. I hadn’t checked out the Urban Wildlife Podcast in too long, and was excited to find that Tony and Read More

A Minor Post, Behavior, Behavioral Ecology, Cognitive Ability, Commensalism, Conservation Biology, Radio & Podcasts, Urban Ecology