Prosanta Chakrabarty
@prosanta.bsky.social
Hunter #SciComm Chair & Prof, Director & Curator of Fishes Museum of NatSci @LSU, TED Fellow, F@AAAS, Fulbrighter, #Evolution #TeamFish, ASIH Past President, he/him #BLM ✊🏿 #ProtectTransKids #SaveTheNSF
Pinned
New post by me on #MITPressReader @mitpress.bsky.social
On the 100th anniversary of the #ScopesMonkeyTrial
the ways we depict #evolution can still give an erroneous progressive view (that evolution leads to humans or ‘increased complexity’).
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/is-our-pictu...
On the 100th anniversary of the #ScopesMonkeyTrial
the ways we depict #evolution can still give an erroneous progressive view (that evolution leads to humans or ‘increased complexity’).
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/is-our-pictu...
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
say it again:
4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities
demolishing higher education is economic sabotage
4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities
demolishing higher education is economic sabotage
It's important to note here that we're not just talking about faculty & university staff. 100s of U.S. colleges are in towns or small cities where they form the major industry & lifeblood of the community. Loss of students -> loss of rent $, restaurant $, bars, bookstores, gaming stores...
The US could see a 30-40% decline in new international student enrollment, resulting in nearly $7 billion in lost revenue and more than 60,000 fewer American jobs. https://www.nafsa.org/fall-2025-international-student-enrollment-outlook-and-economic-impact
August 4, 2025 at 12:30 PM
say it again:
4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities
demolishing higher education is economic sabotage
4 million people work in higher ed, the largest employer in 10 states, second largest employer in 10 more, and in 60 of the 100 biggest cities
demolishing higher education is economic sabotage
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Registration continues this morning in the Hilton lobby for #SSB2026!
We've got name tags, lanyards, meeting stickers, and buttons for everyone.
Be sure to let us know if you're a first time speaker at a scientific conference!
We've got name tags, lanyards, meeting stickers, and buttons for everyone.
Be sure to let us know if you're a first time speaker at a scientific conference!
January 9, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Registration continues this morning in the Hilton lobby for #SSB2026!
We've got name tags, lanyards, meeting stickers, and buttons for everyone.
Be sure to let us know if you're a first time speaker at a scientific conference!
We've got name tags, lanyards, meeting stickers, and buttons for everyone.
Be sure to let us know if you're a first time speaker at a scientific conference!
I’m so proud of @lsu.bsky.social Museum of Natural Science and @tropicalbotany.bsky.social Herbarium folks who volunteered for these tours to over 100 folks - I’m sure they won’t forget what they saw behind the scenes. #museums #naturalhistory
#ssb2026
#ssb2026
Museum and Herbarium tours are now underway. Next bus will depart around 5:00 PM.
All tours should finish by 7:15 and Biodiversity Trivia Night will start at 7:30.
#SSB2026 @systbiol.bsky.social
All tours should finish by 7:15 and Biodiversity Trivia Night will start at 7:30.
#SSB2026 @systbiol.bsky.social
January 10, 2026 at 3:22 AM
I’m so proud of @lsu.bsky.social Museum of Natural Science and @tropicalbotany.bsky.social Herbarium folks who volunteered for these tours to over 100 folks - I’m sure they won’t forget what they saw behind the scenes. #museums #naturalhistory
#ssb2026
#ssb2026
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
It's still pretty early on a Wednesday morning for me. Right about now, I need a couple expresso shots like this fish needs a hole in the head... which is to say, a lot. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
January 7, 2026 at 5:19 PM
It's still pretty early on a Wednesday morning for me. Right about now, I need a couple expresso shots like this fish needs a hole in the head... which is to say, a lot. That and more of the best in @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
This is one of the wildest deep-sea mining stories to me.
Paleodictyon is a 500-million-year-old trace fossil from an unknown organism. In the last 50 years, we've found their honeycomb traces on the seafloor. There is a living organism that has been doing its thing for half a billion years.
Paleodictyon is a 500-million-year-old trace fossil from an unknown organism. In the last 50 years, we've found their honeycomb traces on the seafloor. There is a living organism that has been doing its thing for half a billion years.
Recovery of Paleodictyon patterns after simulated mining activity on Pacific nodule fields - Marine Biodiversity
Since the late 1980s, various experiments have been conducted in polymetallic nodule fields of the Pacific Ocean to assess the potential environmental impacts of future mining, specifically in two are...
link.springer.com
January 5, 2026 at 5:21 PM
This is one of the wildest deep-sea mining stories to me.
Paleodictyon is a 500-million-year-old trace fossil from an unknown organism. In the last 50 years, we've found their honeycomb traces on the seafloor. There is a living organism that has been doing its thing for half a billion years.
Paleodictyon is a 500-million-year-old trace fossil from an unknown organism. In the last 50 years, we've found their honeycomb traces on the seafloor. There is a living organism that has been doing its thing for half a billion years.
Looking for a postdoc? Work on vertebrates and have lab experience? Come be the lab manager/museum postdoc for the LSU Museum of Natural Science!
(It's a great stepping stone to being a curator!)
(It's a great stepping stone to being a curator!)
LSU Museum of Natural Sciences is hiring a postdoc! Come join our very active and supportive museum community. Applicants can work with any of the major divisions: 🐀🦜🦎🐸🐠
Review begins February 15th, please share!
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0119...
Review begins February 15th, please share!
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0119...
Postdoctoral Researcher
All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
January 7, 2026 at 4:26 PM
Looking for a postdoc? Work on vertebrates and have lab experience? Come be the lab manager/museum postdoc for the LSU Museum of Natural Science!
(It's a great stepping stone to being a curator!)
(It's a great stepping stone to being a curator!)
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
LSU Museum of Natural Sciences is hiring a postdoc! Come join our very active and supportive museum community. Applicants can work with any of the major divisions: 🐀🦜🦎🐸🐠
Review begins February 15th, please share!
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0119...
Review begins February 15th, please share!
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0119...
Postdoctoral Researcher
All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:19 PM
LSU Museum of Natural Sciences is hiring a postdoc! Come join our very active and supportive museum community. Applicants can work with any of the major divisions: 🐀🦜🦎🐸🐠
Review begins February 15th, please share!
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0119...
Review begins February 15th, please share!
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/LSU/job/0119...
Check out the schedule for the upcoming #ssb2026 meetings for later this week
Thanks to @jembrown.bsky.social for organizing all this for @systbiol.bsky.social
ssb2026.github.io
Thanks to @jembrown.bsky.social for organizing all this for @systbiol.bsky.social
ssb2026.github.io
2026 SSB Breakout Meeting
ssb2026.github.io
January 6, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Check out the schedule for the upcoming #ssb2026 meetings for later this week
Thanks to @jembrown.bsky.social for organizing all this for @systbiol.bsky.social
ssb2026.github.io
Thanks to @jembrown.bsky.social for organizing all this for @systbiol.bsky.social
ssb2026.github.io
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
I am currently at #SICB2026! I am in the Multimedia Panel tomorrow at 12:15, and will also be presenting my research on Tues. at 11:15, and mine and @taorminalepore.bsky.social's symposium, "Disabled and neurodivergent perception, community, and identity in the biosciences" is Wednesday!
January 5, 2026 at 5:53 AM
I am currently at #SICB2026! I am in the Multimedia Panel tomorrow at 12:15, and will also be presenting my research on Tues. at 11:15, and mine and @taorminalepore.bsky.social's symposium, "Disabled and neurodivergent perception, community, and identity in the biosciences" is Wednesday!
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
🚨 Job Alert! TT Assistant Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks! Looking for a candidate with a focus on coastal ecology. Come be my colleague! Please share.
careers.alaska.edu/jobs/assista...
careers.alaska.edu/jobs/assista...
January 5, 2026 at 7:35 PM
🚨 Job Alert! TT Assistant Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks! Looking for a candidate with a focus on coastal ecology. Come be my colleague! Please share.
careers.alaska.edu/jobs/assista...
careers.alaska.edu/jobs/assista...
For those of you coming down to Baton Rouge for #SSB2026 know that it is warm now (still lizard friendly) but will be cooler during the conference (9th-11 this week). @systbiol.bsky.social
Looking forward to seeing old and new systematist friends!
Looking forward to seeing old and new systematist friends!
January 5, 2026 at 6:50 PM
For those of you coming down to Baton Rouge for #SSB2026 know that it is warm now (still lizard friendly) but will be cooler during the conference (9th-11 this week). @systbiol.bsky.social
Looking forward to seeing old and new systematist friends!
Looking forward to seeing old and new systematist friends!
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Cancer research costs too much but we have the money to run Venezuela
January 3, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Cancer research costs too much but we have the money to run Venezuela
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Tomorrow at 11am is my #SICB2026 talk on early ray-finned fishes! Come by and see all the cool fossils we've CT scanned. Track me down during the rest of the conference to see some 3D printed jaws.....
January 3, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Tomorrow at 11am is my #SICB2026 talk on early ray-finned fishes! Come by and see all the cool fossils we've CT scanned. Track me down during the rest of the conference to see some 3D printed jaws.....
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Just gonna leave this here 🐈
January 2, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Just gonna leave this here 🐈
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
As of today, I am a FULL professor. I do not care much for occupational status markers. Still, it is not lost on me that only 2% of full professors are Black women. This goes beyond personal accomplishment. It is a responsibility to do as much as I can for others. That is exactly what I aim to do.
January 1, 2026 at 9:09 PM
As of today, I am a FULL professor. I do not care much for occupational status markers. Still, it is not lost on me that only 2% of full professors are Black women. This goes beyond personal accomplishment. It is a responsibility to do as much as I can for others. That is exactly what I aim to do.
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
I am excited to share my new book, California Amphibians and How To Find Them, hot off the press from Heyday Books and ready to help guide your wet winter frog and salamander adventures! It is available now from my website or Feb 3 at bookstores.
www.centralcoastsnakeservices.com/shop.html
www.centralcoastsnakeservices.com/shop.html
January 1, 2026 at 1:23 PM
I am excited to share my new book, California Amphibians and How To Find Them, hot off the press from Heyday Books and ready to help guide your wet winter frog and salamander adventures! It is available now from my website or Feb 3 at bookstores.
www.centralcoastsnakeservices.com/shop.html
www.centralcoastsnakeservices.com/shop.html
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Bycatch is a neologism of the olde englysh "Bye Ketch", referring to the small poacher ships which were overfishing off the coast of Nantucket.
If a fish was caught Bye Ketch, it is "fromcatch".
If a fish was caught Bye Ketch, it is "fromcatch".
December 29, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Bycatch is a neologism of the olde englysh "Bye Ketch", referring to the small poacher ships which were overfishing off the coast of Nantucket.
If a fish was caught Bye Ketch, it is "fromcatch".
If a fish was caught Bye Ketch, it is "fromcatch".
My New Year’s resolution (besides ❤️🩹 from ♋️) is to ask more questions during conversations (versus me blabbing on) and listening 👂 more to what people are saying.
December 29, 2025 at 8:21 PM
My New Year’s resolution (besides ❤️🩹 from ♋️) is to ask more questions during conversations (versus me blabbing on) and listening 👂 more to what people are saying.
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
The National Science Foundation starts 2026 with a new management structure that affects every scientist with--or applying for--NSF funding. Here's what you need to know. www.science.org/content/arti...
The National Science Foundation just had a big reorganization. Here are five things to know
Divisions and rotators disappear as more career staff become supervisors
www.science.org
December 29, 2025 at 2:54 PM
The National Science Foundation starts 2026 with a new management structure that affects every scientist with--or applying for--NSF funding. Here's what you need to know. www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Awesome article in @science.org on @danielgeldof.bsky.social Master's thesis on the secret of the rockhead poacher’s (Bothragonus swanii) unusual cranial anatomy. Daniel did some beautiful CT scans on this odd fish's head.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
This fish seems to use its bizarre skull like a drum
The rockhead poacher’s unusual cranial anatomy may help it communicate
www.science.org
December 28, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Awesome article in @science.org on @danielgeldof.bsky.social Master's thesis on the secret of the rockhead poacher’s (Bothragonus swanii) unusual cranial anatomy. Daniel did some beautiful CT scans on this odd fish's head.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Awesome article in @science.org on @danielgeldof.bsky.social Master's thesis on the secret of the rockhead poacher’s (Bothragonus swanii) unusual cranial anatomy. Daniel did some beautiful CT scans on this odd fish's head.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
This fish seems to use its bizarre skull like a drum
The rockhead poacher’s unusual cranial anatomy may help it communicate
www.science.org
December 28, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Awesome article in @science.org on @danielgeldof.bsky.social Master's thesis on the secret of the rockhead poacher’s (Bothragonus swanii) unusual cranial anatomy. Daniel did some beautiful CT scans on this odd fish's head.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
New Job Search Announcement: Curator of Paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science:
careers.share.nm.gov/psc/hprdcg/E...
careers.share.nm.gov/psc/hprdcg/E...
An error has occurred.
careers.share.nm.gov
December 23, 2025 at 7:08 PM
New Job Search Announcement: Curator of Paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science:
careers.share.nm.gov/psc/hprdcg/E...
careers.share.nm.gov/psc/hprdcg/E...
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
First-of-a-kind study shows encouraging data for trans kids who socially transition
Ninety-four percent of participants in a new study stood firm in their trans identity after five years, and "detransitioning" is rare.
www.popsci.com
December 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM
The name "Popular Science" doesn't mean we shift our coverage depending on public opinion. It means we cover relevant subjects that are rigorously researched, reliable, and grounded in reality.
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
And trans lives are grounded in reality.
We see y'all. No matter what.
www.popsci.com/science/tran...
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Just translated an excellent academic paper from Spanish about how Tropical Gar (or pejelagarto) were influential in Yokotan Mayan people. They noted the close similarities between gars and crocodiles and prepared sacrificial gar stews to offer to their river deity for good luck on crocodile hunts!
December 22, 2025 at 7:44 PM
Just translated an excellent academic paper from Spanish about how Tropical Gar (or pejelagarto) were influential in Yokotan Mayan people. They noted the close similarities between gars and crocodiles and prepared sacrificial gar stews to offer to their river deity for good luck on crocodile hunts!
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Curator of Education job (tenure-track Assistant Professor) at the Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado Boulder! Salary $90-$100K, 9 month full time position. Apply by Jan 21. jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
Assistant Professor - Curator of Education (Tenure-Track)
jobs.colorado.edu
December 22, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Curator of Education job (tenure-track Assistant Professor) at the Museum of Natural History, University of Colorado Boulder! Salary $90-$100K, 9 month full time position. Apply by Jan 21. jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...