2021 May General Zoom Meeting: Election of Ministers and Tom Volk discussing "Everyday and Extraordinary Fungal Superheroes" (by )
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Please join us for our General Meeting on Zoom . The Zoom session will be opened at 6:30 pm for those who would like to socialize and chat with fellow mycophiles before the main meeting, which will start at 7:00 pm.
Before our final speaker of the season, we will be having our biennial election of ministers. Here is a list of the ministers up for election. Any dues paying FFSC member can vote and can also volunteer or be nominated as a minister. (Please note that the Prime Minister and Vice Prime Minister positions require having served previously as a board member. The other positions can be held by any FFSC member.) To get a sense of what is entailed in these positions, see Ministerial Duties.
Tom Volk, a mycologist with 2 hearts will discuss:
Everyday and Extraordinary Fungal Superheroes
Many fungi are beneficial to people, including mushrooms, molds, and yeasts. This talk explores the many useful fungi in our everyday lives. including delicious edible mushrooms and medicinal mushrooms. There are many important drugs made from fungi, such as penicillin and steroids, and many industrial products, such as citric acid and ethanol. Fungi are well represented in arts and crafts to make our days happier. There are also some extraordinary uses for fungi, including bioremediation and biopulping. We will talk about a wide panorama of fungi for everyone.
Tom Volk is a Professor of Biology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He teaches courses on Mycology, Medical Mycology, Plant-Microbe Interactions, Food & Industrial Mycology, Advanced Mycology, Organismal Biology and Latin & Greek for Scientists. His internet web page, Tom Volk's Fungi <http://TomVolkFungi.net> has a popular "Fungus of the Month" feature, and an extensive introduction to the Kingdom Fungi. Besides dabbling in mushroom cultivation, Tom has worked on the genera Morchella (morels), Cantharellus (chanterelles), Hydnellum (a tooth fungus), Armillaria (honey mushrooms) and Laetiporus (chicken of the woods, or sulfur shelf), as well as several medical mycology projects, prairie mycorrhizae, mycoprospecting, and fungi involved in coal formation. He also has conducted fungal biodiversity studies in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alaska, and Israel. Having lectured in 38 states so far, Tom is a popular speaker at many amateur and professional mycological events throughout North America, including many NAMA and NEMF foray He has presented numerous pre-covid lecture at FFSC meeting and at the Fungus Fair and hopes to return in-person soon.