I grow old ever learning many things.
Solon (630-560 BC)
I teach three different classes about fungi to three very different audiences. I like my students and they generally like me; we learn a lot together. Feel free to contact me if you have questions about my classes.
Fungi
Fungi, PLPA 3090, 3cr
This Fall class (formerly called "Introductory Mycology") is a thorough introduction to fungi and fungus-like organisms. My goals for the class are stated in my syllabus. We get acquainted with fungi through lectures, a weekly lab, and through a culture collection assignment, in which students learn to capture and tame a wild fungus. This is a great class for pre-med, pre-vet, food science, plant pathology, microbiology, and plant science students, and also for people who just think fungi are really cool. I think fungi are really cool and that comes through in my teaching style.
Mushrooms of Field and Forest
Mushrooms of Field and Forest, PLPA 3190, 2 cr
My Fall field class in mushroom identification has no prerequisites and is open to anyone interested in mushrooms. Students learn to use field guides and keys to identify Ithaca-area mushrooms, endure brief lectures about mushroom poisoning and mycophagy, and sometimes get rained on in the forest.
The class meets the first 8 wks of Fall semester. On Wednesday afternoons we visit local forests to collect mushrooms; Wednesday evenings we meet again to identify them. Grades are based on a mushroom collection, a quiz, and a final practical exam. The class is offered for letter grade only. It counts as CALS distribution credit in Life Sciences.
Don't confuse this class with Prof. Hudler's excellent Spring class Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds.
Current Topics in Fungal Biology
Current Topics in Fungal Biology, PLPA 6490, 1 cr
co-instructor: B.G. Turgeon
A graduate-level class in journal club format. Every Spring semester we gather weekly to critique the very latest and greatest papers about fungal genomics, genetics, phylogeny, and ecology.
The class is open to grad students, postdocs, faculty and the occasional ambitious undergraduate. It helps us all keep up with current literature and concepts, and improve our skills critiquing and writing scientific articles.
Medical and Veterinary Mycology
Medical and Veterinary Mycology,
PLPA 3290, 2 cr
OK, four courses. I'm currently developing a new class on fungi that are vertebrate pathogens. This is exciting for you, because those are some pretty amazing fungi. It is also exciting for me, since I am ravenously curious and this is a great opportunity to take my knowledge of fungi in a new direction.
The class will be open to all students who have taken Intro Bio. It's especially aimed at pre-med and pre-vet students. It will be a lecture/discussion-only class, at least for the first year. Look for it in Spring semesters starting in Spring 2009.
- There's no class web page yet