Lansing Prescott served as Professor of Biology and chair of the department at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, until May 1999. Dr. Prescott received his B.A. and M.A. in biology from Rice University and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Brandeis University. He was a visiting lecturer at the University of Georgia in 1980. Dr. Prescott’s research interests are the properties of bacterial aspartate transcarbamylases (particularly those from Bacillus stearothermophilus and B. psychrophilus) and the effect of toxicants on diatom morphology and physiology. As is the case in small, liberal arts colleges, one of Dr. Prescott’s primary responsibilities was teaching undergraduates. He has taught courses in introductory microbiology for nursing and allied health students, general microbiology for majors, cell biology, biological chemistry, immunology, human physiology, and parasitology. In 1989, he received a faculty achievement award for excellence in teaching. Presently living just outside Austin, Texas, Dr. Prescott enjoys listening to music, playing golf and chess, and reading both fiction and nonfiction when he is not engaged in academic pursuits. Dr. Prescott’s commitment to writing is long-standing. Besides his involvement in Microbiology and Laboratory Exercises in Microbiology, now in their sixth editions, he was a contributing author for a general biology textbook, L. G. Johnson’s (1983) Biology. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown, and has been a Choice book reviewer for many years. Dr. Prescott can be reached at lansing_prescott@augie.edu.

John Harley is a professor at Eastern Kentucky University. He received his B.A. degree in biology and chemistry from Youngstown State University in 1964, an M.A. degree in parasitology and microbiology from Kent State University in 1966, and his Ph.D. in cardiovascular physiology from Kent State University in 1969. Dr. Harley did postdoctoral work at Baylor College of Medicine, Argonne National Lab, and Vanderbilt University. In 1972 he accepted a faculty position at Eastern Kentucky University, where he rose through the ranks to full professor and in 1990 was named a Foundation Professor by the EKU Alumni Association and Board of Reagents. He also holds full graduate status at the University of Kentucky where he teaches a pathophysiology course in the graduate program. Dr. Harley’s research interests are in parasitology (abnormal and normal host relationships, biochemistry, life cycle studies, and pharmacology) and the effects of parasites on normal host physiology. He has published over 80 research papers and publications and was advisor to 16 graduate students. Together with Stephen Miller, he wrote the sixth edition of Zoology, published by McGraw-Hill. Dr. Harley teaches general zoology, general biology, human anatomy, microbiology, general physiology, human physiology, and pathophysiology. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Harley raises and breeds Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, enjoys working on automobiles, traveling, gardening, reading science journals and fiction. Dr. Harley can be reached at john.harley@eku.edu.

Donald Klein is a Professor of Microbiology at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. Dr. Klein received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in agriculture and agricultural microbiology from the University of Vermont. After predoctoral studies at the University of Tübingen, Germany, he received his Ph.D. in microbiology from the Pennsylvania State University. His research interests are in the area of environmental microbiology, with major emphasis on plant-microbe relationships in the rhizosphere, plant community succession, and the fungal-bacterial structure of natural systems. In addition to work in these areas, Dr. Klein has had a long-standing interest in teaching, especially at the undergraduate level. He has taught courses in soil, aquatic and industrial microbiology, as well as courses in the areas of general microbiology, microbial diversity and microbial ecology. In addition to his contributions to the environmental, food, and industrial microbiology sections of Microbiology, Dr. Klein has edited books on microbial aspects of weather modification and soil reclamation. He is a member of the American Academy of Microbiology, and has served on the editorial boards of several scientific journals. In addition to his academic interests, Dr. Klein enjoys reading classic German literature, Jaguar XK150 restoration, sculpting mythical animals in stone, and sailing a beetlecat sailboat on Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, in the summertime. Dr. Klein can be reached at dakspk@cape.com.