Nearly 200 Academy Fellows and their guests attended the annual meeting and dinner held on October 9. Academy Fellows comprise a governing group of distinguished scientists who have made notable contributions to the natural sciences.
 

The evening included a talk entitled, “Crisis Biology: Can we control a deadly infectious amphibian disease before it is too late?” by Vance Vredenburg of San Francisco State University. Tweet summary? It’s a risky time to be a frog. If you are a frog, choose a Yosemite pond to hang out in.
 

During dinner, David B. Wake, Professor Emeritus at Berkeley, was honored with the Fellows Medal. His tribute to his wife Marvalee, who was an earlier winner of the Fellows Medal, was a heartfelt salute to their life-long professional collaboration and 50 years of marriage. From his comments, it would seem that life really works out well sometimes.
 

George Bell, volunteer diver at the Academy, was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for giving over 1,000 hours each year to the diving program. George was escorted by a duo of divers dressed formally in “drysuits.” Thank you to George and all the other volunteers who help make the Academy work.
 

Connor Lockridge, who obviously has a career as a new Tom Lehrer, serenaded dinner guests with a tribute to amphibians with ukulele accompaniment. You ain’t never heard nothing like it, that’s for sure. You may never again. But just in case, here’s a link the song: http://thewigglytendrils.bandcamp.com/track/7000-kinds-of-amphibians-a7k
 

And finally, ten new Academy Fellows were inducted. It’s a great group. Click here to see their bios.