We often say that our students have weathered not just an unconventional two years but an unconventional college career. And it’s true. The class of 2022 has persevered through a truly unconventional and challenging time, and they’ve come out the other side having completed a remarkable feat.

There are many reasons to take pride in being an Aggie, and perhaps the most significant is when we get to see students who have spent the last four years in the lab, the classroom and the field take their well-deserved bow and cross the graduation stage.

Each year, in tandem with commencement, many CBS students are also recognized by the college and campus with awards and citations from their home departments in recognition of their accomplishments. I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is for me – for all of us in the college, and on campus – to see our students celebrated in these meaningful ways.

From all of us in the College of Biological Sciences, I would like to wish the class of 2022 my sincerest congratulations. You've accomplished so much since you first stepped foot onto campus. Wherever life takes you – or wherever you take life – remember the Aggie values of service and justice and you will go far.

Biome will be taking a summer hiatus, but we’ll be posting new and noteworthy stories on our website, and on the college’s social media platforms. If you haven’t followed us, now is a great time. Meanwhile, I wish you all a safe and happy summer.

And congrats again, class of 2022 – once an Aggie, always an Aggie!

Featured image: A paper sage-grouse adorns a graduation cap. Department of Evolution and Ecology researchers use sage-grouse as models for understanding how male signals and courtship tactics influence female mate-choice decisions.

Bats represent a quarter of all living mammalian species, but not until recently has the full motor cortex of any bat has been mapped. Center for Neuroscience researchers contributed to the study.

Sharon Strauss, a professor emerita in the Department of Evolution and Ecology, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences for “outstanding contributions to evolutionary ecology.”

Several college faculty members, undergraduate students and a postdoctoral fellow were recognized last month for excellence in research and mentorship over the last year.

Over the course of a 40-year career, Metcalf and his team transformed a small plant collection into a 3,000 square-foot complex that houses over 5,000 plant species from 150 families across the globe.

Weeping Rocks, a feature-length documentary that focuses on the role of insects in our ecosystem, spotlights the work of Art Shapiro, who has studied butterfly populations for the last 50 years.