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🚨🚨🇯🇲 OUR HORNRAISER IS NOW LIVE! CLICK THE LINK IN OUR BIO TO DONATE! 🇯🇲🚨🚨

For the next 30 days, we are trying to raise $7000 to support rebuilding efforts in Western Jamaica, which was devastated by Hurricane Melissa, a category 5 storm that made landfall in in October.

The impacted communities matter deeply to us, as we have been working in Western Jamaica with @neetjam since 2021, co-developing lesson plans and STEM camps for children and teachers. Through activities like engineering challenges, glass bottom boat tours of coral reefs, beach cleanups, and mock paleontology digs, we seek to foster scientific curiosity, confidence, and environmental stewardship among Jamaican youth. We were just beginning to plan a Summer 2026 STEM Camp, when Hurricane Melissa hit.

Many families lost their homes, and several schools sustained significant damage or were converted into emergency shelters. As a result, some schools have only recently begun to reopen.

In response, we are launching a 30-day fundraising campaign with a goal of $7,000 to support educators, students, and families during the recovery process. Funds will be used for things like care packages, school recovery efforts, and science-based learning experiences that promote healing, continuity, and resilience.

If you are able to contribute, or to share this information with others who may be interested, we would be deeply grateful. 🙏🏾🙏🏾
Additional details and donation information can be found on our website, bit.ly/rebuildSTEM (also linked in bio). by @kemp_lab

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9 months ago

Nice representation of UT Austin students past and present at the Texas Herpetological Society Meeting on Friday, where current Kemp Lab members Emery Bell and Tianyi Xu presented their research on Jamaican reptile fossils! by @kemp_lab

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6 days ago

Become a fossil hunter and help discover what microvertebrate communities looked like through time by picking and sorting fossil specimens (including rodents, rabbits, bats, reptiles, and amphibians) from Inner Space Cavern rock matrix! You are welcome to participate anytime that is convenient, with no commitment necessary. All are welcome, so bring your friends! For more information, contact Julia Schap (julia.schap@austin.utexas.edu) or join our mailing list! Please note that any minors must be accompanied by an adult. by @kemp_lab

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a month ago

Summer 2026 Lab Garden Party and send off for our recent grad Abby McAlanis, who will start a PhD at Purdue University this fall!!

We ate several dishes featuring home-grown veggies, picked tomatoes and eggplants, and enjoyed Gin Gimlets featuring Texas-made gin @wildginstx by @kemp_lab

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4 months ago

Four of us spent the morning deep cleaning our ancient DNA lab. Here is a rare glimpse inside. This lab is a clean lab, designed to minimize the entry of contaminants that could compromise our research on delicate, highly degraded DNA from fossils and other historical specimens. What you see here is the main hallway. Each door leads to a separate workroom outfitted with a biosafety cabinet, centrifuges, pipettes, and other standard lab equipment necessary for our research. by @kemp_lab

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4 months ago

The Department of Geography and Geology is pleased to recognize our inaugural Honor Society inductees:
Aaliyah Alexander, Adrianna Wright, Braeden Barry, Kyla Nightingale, Moniqua Mothersill, Rachelle Downey, Sunny Samaroo, and Reshard Cudjoe.
Selected based on their academic performance in the previous semester, these students have demonstrated commendable dedication to their studies.
We celebrate their individual accomplishments and stand ready to support all our students in realising their full potential whilst supporting the academic journey of fellow students.
We extend our gratitude to Dr. Melissa Kemp of the Department of Integrated Biology at University of Texas, Austin, who delivered the keynote address to our inductees. by @kemp_lab

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5 months ago

Dr. Kemp here. The 2nd week of my recent trip to Jamaica was focused on community. I wanted to take this moment to provide an update on the disbursement of funds raised from our #hornraiser

With support from our donors and insight from collaborators at the Ministry of Education and Youth, we worked with long-time partners @neetjam to assemble 23 STEM education kits for schools impacted by Hurricane Melissa. I traveled with Ms. Jean Brown (NEET Master Teacher) to schools across Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth and delivered these kits. We also used funds to purchase additional classroom materials and construction supplies for schools that sustained severe damage.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who supported the hornraiser, whether it was through a direct donation or sharing with your network. The teachers and principals were deeply appreciative to receive the help (and didn’t judge me too hard for sharing a name with the Hurricane 😅). I am incredibly appreciative too, especially after seeing the damage firsthand. It was both difficult and surreal bearing witness to what has been destroyed by strong winds and rains, but I also bore witness to an incredible strength that lives in the people who endured this horrible event. That strength was astonishing, humbling, and inspiring.

It has now been six months since Hurricane Melissa made landfall, devastating communities throughout Western and Southern Jamaica. While people are adapting and plants are starting to grow back, it is abundantly clear that Jamaica still has a long road to recovery. The Kemp Lab is incredibly grateful for the relationships we have cultivated in Jamaica, and we remain committed to Jamaica in its entirety. Stay tuned for more ways to support recovery. 🖤💛💚 by @kemp_lab

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5 months ago

Dr. Kemp just returned from a two week research and administrative trip to Jamaica. The first week was spent in residence at the University of the West Indies Mona, where she worked with @uwigeoggeol students on fossil identifications and data collection for an ongoing body size project. She was honored to be present at the inaugural induction ceremony for the Department of Geography and Geology’s Honour Society. Kemp Lab member Sunny Samaroo and incoming @txgeosciences graduate student Aaliyah Alexander were among the inductees! taken in The Faculty of Science and Technology, The UWI Mona by @kemp_lab

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5 months ago

Our hornraiser is officially over and we raised $7050 to support students, teachers, and families in Western Jamaica who were impacted by Hurricane Melissa!!

Thank you so much for your support it means a lot to us and our communities in Western Jamaica 🖤💛💚 we will be meeting with our colleagues in 🇯🇲 shortly to start getting them the resources that they need. by @kemp_lab

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8 months ago

Melissa Kemp, associate professor of integrative biology and of Earth and planetary sciences, studies how biodiversity is shaped by global change phenomena through time and across space.

Her work — integrating paleobiology with ecology, evolution and conservation — involves exploring the fossil record of Jamaica to understand ancient biodiversity, as well as the ways environmental change and human activity play a role in the health of species over time. With NSF CAREER Award funding, she has developed and shared science lesson plans for teachers and STEM camp experiences for children in Jamaica for years.

Following the devastation of Hurricane Melissa there, she is using UT’s HornRaiser platform to secure support for the community there. Learn more at the link in our bio.

#AncientBiodiversity #PaleoBiology #STEMEducation #STEMForKids #TexasScience
@PostPluto @Kemp_Lab @TXGeoSciences @TexasBiodiversityCenter Dr. Melissa Kemp and two researchers examine a roped off square of dirt that has been excavated in a cave. by @kemp_lab

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8 months ago

MEET NEET YOUNG INNOVATORS PT. 5
Introducing Pearlyn Ang, ‘22 UT graduate, who was one of the student cofounders of NEET Young Innovators. Pearlyn reflects on one of our most popular activities–the tinfoil boat challenge–and the multiple lessons that students learn from this engineering and design lesson.

A core goal of NEET Young Innovators is to help students build skills, confidence, and curiosity to solve big challenges faced by society. Hurricane Melissa brought numerous challenges pertaining to climate change to the forefront, and we are working with our partners to develop lessons in renewable energy systems, data literacy, and environmental monitoring that will strengthen schools and communities for the long term.

If you are interested in donating to support recovery efforts and STEM education in Jamaica please see the link in our bio or visit bit.ly/rebuildSTEM by @kemp_lab

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8 months ago

Drop in anytime between 10am and noon to join in. RSVPs are requested but not required. See you Saturday! taken in Austin, Texas by @kemp_lab

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8 months ago