The Raymond Falconer Natural History Lectures

The Falconer Lectures are the University at Albany's longest running public science lecture series that were started by Ray when he worked as site manager of the ASRC Whiteface Mountain Field Station in the early 1960's. The original lectures were held in the summer at the Marble Mountain Lodge facility and in 1973, Falconer expanded the lectures to a spring series held on the campus of The University at Albany.

At the beginning of each lecture, Ray would provide a brief weather forecast and discussion, and quickly became known as "The Dean of Weather Forecasting". Sometime in the 1970's, Gertrude S. Thompson, an environmentalist with a keen interest in weather and also a regular attendee of the Falconer lectures, became a close friend of Ray's and made a bequest and established The Ray Falconer Endowed Chair at the University at Albany.

The Summer 2025 Lecture Series

Attend in-person at ASRC's Whiteface Mountain Field Station, 110 Marble Mountain Lane, Wilmington, NY 12997
(Note: Falconer lectures start promptly at 7PM!

July 22, 2025

Saikat Chakraborty, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chemistry, Paul Smith's College Center with a background in Environmental Science

"The Image is Not the Model"

This talk will highlight the research on the generation of carbon-free solar fuels from water, one of the many ways to combat climate change. Saikat will also employ his images, centered mostly around the boreal wetland ecosystems of the Adirondacks, to emphasize the importance of artistic experience and how it diverges from documentation and scientific modeling. The transition from scientific research to creative expression will portray why this divergence is significant, and yet not contradictory to understanding, loving, and caring for these special places. Born and raised in India, Saikat came to the U.S. to pursue graduate studies. He received his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Rochester where he worked on the generation of carbon-free solar fuels from water. He is a resident of Saranac Lake and has been a faculty member at Paul Smith's College since Fall 2021. When he is not in class teaching Chemistry, he can be found outside with his dog "Moose", and his camera.

August 5, 2025

Sarah Lombardo, Ph.D. student, Atmospheric Sciences Research Center

"First Look at Microbiology in Clouds at Whiteface Mountain, from Summer 2024"

Whiteface Mountain (WFM) in northern NY State is the site of a historic mountaintop atmospheric observatory with an ongoing cloud water chemistry monitoring program that has been operating every summer (June through September) since 1994. Though long-term chemical analysis has been conducted, no analysis on the microbiome has been completed at WFM. Over the years, a new chemical regime has been reported in the cloud water with missing analytes. Knowing how microbes can interact with chemicals and chemicals interact with microbes will add another lens of analysis to our cloud water studies.
Starting in 2024, we began microbial analysis of cloud water filters using 16S DNA sequencing with the Oxford Nanopore and have been able to start identifying common microbial species found in WFM clouds. Key attention has been paid to filters collected during times of intense storms and wildfire smoke. Overall, this study seeks to highlight microbially studied filters based on chemical composition and natural disaster significance to offer insight on the connections that can be made among the three.
Sara Lombardo started working in the Lance lab in July 2023, prior to starting their graduate studies at UAlbany in the Fall of 2023. Sara has undergraduate degrees in Chemistry and Environmental Sciences from the University of Virginia and found the perfect overlap studying clouds at Whiteface Mountain. Since joining the Lance lab, Sara has been fascinated with the interaction of chemical and microbes in clouds and the impacts these can have on human health as well as nutrient cycling. Sara firmly believes that science must be interlinked with justice and strives to bring that perspective to every aspect of research.

August 19, 2025

Carrianne Pershyn, Biodiversity Research Manager, AuSable Freshwater Center | carrie@ausablecenter.org

"Environmental DNA in Action: Monitoring Fish Communities in Northern NY "

What can a drop of water reveal about an entire fish community? This talk explores how environmental DNA (eDNA) is a new tool in our toolbox and reshaping the way we monitor native and non-native fish species in the Adirondacks. From detecting elusive brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout to tracking Atlantic salmon, American eel, and lamprey in Lake Champlain tributaries, we'll dive into real‐world examples of how eDNA metabarcoding helps conservationists map species distributions, evaluate restoration success, and uncover hidden biodiversity‐without ever catching a fish.
Carrianne has worked in many capacities for the AuSable Freshwater Center (AFC) since 2014. In late 2018, she became a full-time research associate for the organization, supporting their Biodiverse Habitats program and monitoring brook trout and other native organisms that rely on Ausable streams. She holds an M.S. in Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY and a B.S. in Ecology from Plattsburgh State University. Her master's thesis research focused on Brook Trout habitat use, recruitment, and population genetics in high elevation, groundwater‐fed tributaries of the headwaters of the AuSable River.
She is formally trained in natural history and ecology of freshwater habitats, with a variety of past research experience on terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. Her 2018‐2019 field projects with AFC included expanding and maintaining a network of temperature loggers across the watershed, designing and implementing eDNA field and lab studies to map the spatial distribution of brook trout and other salmonids, and planning future research projects that focus on Brook Trout ecology and conservation in the Adirondacks. She has worked in Adirondack conservation and lived in the Park for more than a decade, and when not working, can be found adventuring on Adirondack waterways and in wild forests.

For a full color brochure of this summer's lectures with abstract, click BROCHURE