April 2023 General Meeting - Nicholas Romano "Mushrooms, Mycelium, and More: The Future of Fungal Materials"

Please join us for our April meeting at the Harvey West Club House. 

The evening will start at 6:30 pm for those who would like to socialize, snack on Bob Wynn's fantastic spread and chat with fellow mycophiles before the meeting. Bring in any fungi you have been skillful enough to find for identification! Business and announcements will start at 7:00 pm. After the business part of the meeting, we will be joined by Nicholas Romano, our evening's speaker.

If you wish to join us remotely, you can join the Zoom meeting here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89399757379?pwd=OUY3Rys0Y3ljTzVZVkdjdW9sYlNZdz09

Mushrooms, Mycelium, and More: The Future of Fungal Materials

This talk will delve into the cutting edge of fungal bio-technology: materials and foods created through mycelium cultivation and fungal fermentation. There are numerous examples of fungal bio-materials emerging onto the market including fungal packaging materials, textiles & leathers, insulation & building blocks, and primary food- all made using mycelium. I will discuss my experience in the biotech industry working both on solid-state and liquid-state production of mycelium textiles and mycoprotein. I will attempt to link together the ancestral uses of fungi with the modern evolution of fungi not only as food but as a malleable, living material. Additionally, I will brainstorm some of the potential future applications of these technologies as we rapidly approach global state changes and the growing need for scalable & sustainable methods of production- the factories of the future must certainly be fungal.

Nicholas Romano is an industrial mycologist and has been working with mushrooms & fungi for over 8 years. He graduated from Stanford University with a Masters of Science in Earth Systems and a focus on fungal ecology. Since then, he has worked at Mycoworks, a biotechnology company producing ‘fine mycelium-’ a type of alternative leather made from the ganoderma fungi. Currently Nic is employed as a fungal biologist at Meati Foods where he supports and advances the production of alternative meat made from fungi cultured through liquid fermentation. His duties include optimizing liquid media recipes, documenting biochemistry of fungal cell interactions, and studying fungal health through mycelium morphology. In his free time Nic is known to frequent hot springs, hunt & eat wild mushrooms, share music, and bake fresh bread.


Biennial elections for FFSC ministers will be held during the May general meeting. Per our bylaws, a slate of nominees will be presented at this April meeting and nominations will also be taken from the floor. If you are interested in volunteering, please let any of the current ministers know.  For information on the various minister positions, see About the FFSC , Bylaws , and Ministers.