Bond Named Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences
COSAM Advisor Receives Outstanding Advising Award
Auburn Professor Jason Bond was named the new chair of the Department of Biological Sciences . His term began January 1 , 2016 .
Bond received a bachelor of science in biology from Western Carolina University , and both his master of science in biology and his doctor of philosophy in evolutionary systematics and genetics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University . He was a postdoc at The Field Museum in Chicago and a professor at East Carolina University in Greenville , North Carolina , prior to coming to Auburn .
He joined COSAM ’ s Department of Biological Sciences in 2011 as a professor and director of the Auburn University Museum of Natural History . In this role , he contributed to the planning and construction of the Biodiversity Learning Center , a 15,000 square-foot facility dedicated to the museum ’ s natural history collections . He coordinated and oversaw the transfer and organization of each of the university ’ s natural history collections from various locations around campus to the newly constructed Biodiversity Learning Center . In addition to a coordinated effort to house all of Auburn ’ s natural history collections in one , organized home , Bond also oversaw tremendous growth of the museum during his tenure as director . In the last four years , museum holdings have been increased from eight collections to nine with the addition of marine invertebrates . A new curator was added to museum staff , and , most recently , the Alabama Natural Heritage Program joined the Museum of Natural History , a merger that brought two new research assistant professors , a fulltime zoologist , botanist , database manager , and an outreach coordinator . With the addition of an outreach coordinator , Bond has supported increased public education and outreach , and staff now visit local schools , welcome community groups to tour the Biodiversity Learning Center , host an annual open house , and more . Additionally , Bond has been successful in securing both grant and private funding for museum operations .
Bond specializes in the evolution , systematics , and taxonomy of arachnids and myriapods , and his work has been featured in numerous media outlets , including Nature News , MSNBC , BBC , NPR , and The New York Times . He was even featured on Comedy Channel ’ s Colbert Report for his discovery of two new spider species : a trapdoor spider Bond named after Neil Young , Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi ; and another spider he named after television show host , Stephen Colbert , Aptostichus stephencolberti . Bond has discovered nearly 100 new spider and millipede species to date , including Myrmekiaphila tigris , which was found in Auburn and is referred to as the “ Auburn Tiger trapdoor spider .” Programs at the National Science Foundation , National Geographic Society , U . S . Fish and Wildlife , and the U . S . Forest Service fund his work in ecology , evolution , and systematics . While much of his work happens locally , Bond also travels extensively ; he has conducted fieldwork throughout the world to include the American Southwest , Central America , Australia , South Africa , Namibia , Angola , Australia , Malaysia , and Mexico .
He has served as the associate editor for a number of journals to include Organisms , Diversity , and Evolution ; The Journal of Arachnology ; and The Biodiversity Data Journal . Bond also serves regularly as a National Science Foundation panel member . For more information on Bond , visit his website at auburn . edu / academic / cosam / faculty / biology / bond /.
Meredith Jones , advisor in the College of Sciences and Mathematics , has been selected to receive the annual Auburn University Outstanding Advising Award - New Advisor Category . Jones was honored at the annual Provost Advising Awards Ceremony in February . She has been with COSAM Student Services since May 2014 . She earned an undergraduate degree from COSAM in biomedical sciences and then attended Clemson University where she earned a master of education with a focus in counselor education .
College of Sciences and Mathematics 7 College of Sciences and Mathematics