About the Authors

Kingsley R. Stern
Kingsley R. Stern received his undergraduate education at Wheaton College, where he majored in botany. In graduate school, he continued his studies in botany, while minoring in zoology and horticulture. He received his master’s degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. He took additional graduate courses at the University of Illinois in Urbana, and at the Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University in Pacific Grove, California. While pursuing his studies, Dr. Stern held part-time positions as an instructor in biology at Hamline University, and an instructor in botany at the University of Minnesota, where he received a Conway McMillan Research Fellowship. After accepting a position as Assistant Professor of Botany at California State University in Chico, he was promoted to Associate, and then Full Professor. In 1987, while on leave, he was a Visiting Professor of Botany at the Manoa campus of the University of Hawaii. During his tenure at California State University, Dr. Stern taught eight different courses, several of which he introduced to the curriculum, and has been on the committees of over 50 graduate students. To date, an estimated 15,000 students have enrolled in his classes. He has received several grants from the National Science Foundation in support of biosystematic investigations in Fumariaceae (Fumitory family). These investigations, which included studies at the Swedish National Pollen Laboratory in Stockholm, eventually led to the publication of about 20 research papers in professional journals. Dr. Stern’s academic awards include being named Outstanding Professor at California State University in 1993, and receiving the school’s Distinguished Service award in 1999 for establishing and developing the University Herbarium, which now contains more than 70,000 specimens.

James Bidlack
Jim Bidlack received a B.S. Degree in Agronomy, with a Soil & Crop Option, from Purdue University in 1984 and continued his education with a Master's Degree in Crop Physiology at the University of Arkansas in 1986. Upon completing a Ph.D. in Plant Physiology at Iowa State University in 1990, Jim joined the teaching faculty at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) where he is a Professor of Biology. His first paper was published from undergraduate research at Purdue University on the use of synthetic growth regulators to stimulate seed germination. Subsequent work at Arkansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma focused on soybean physiology, cell wall chemistry, and alternative crops, as well as teaching responsibilities in plant biology. Equipment and student salaries for Jim's research projects have been funded by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). About a dozen referred publications, as well as 40 popular articles and abstracts have resulted from this work. Jim has been active with campus organizations, serving two terms as the local President of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and sponsoring Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Circle K International Club, and Mortar Board Honor Society. He has been recognized with UCO's Presidential Partner's Excellence in Teaching Award, Biology Club Teaching Award, and Pre-Med Teaching Award, as well as AAUP's Distinguished Scholar and Service Awards. Some of Jim's additional responsibilities have included participation on NSF and USDA Review Panels, membership on the National Biology Editorial Board for the Multimedia Educational Resource for Online Teaching Project, and Executive Directorship of the Metabolism Foundation. He and his wife, Amy, enjoy hiking and fishing, and spend free time at family farms in Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Shelley H. Jansky
Shelley H. Jansky received a bachelor's degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1982, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984 and 1986, respectively. Her graduate work focused on developing methods to incorporate genes from wild relatives of potato into the cultivated potato. Then, she spent four years as an assistant professor at North Dakota State University, teaching courses in plant breeding and plant propagation, and performing research in the potato breeding program. She has been at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point since 1990, where she teaches courses in botany, genetics, horticulture, and plant genetics. Her potato research program continues to be active, with the assistance of undergraduate students. Her current research involves breeding, genetics, and physiological studies of resistance to the soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae. She received the University Excellence in Teaching Award in 1992 and the University Scholar Award in 2000. Her home is on a lake near Stevens Point, where she enjoys swimming, canoeing, sailing, fishing, and gardening with her husband John and two young children Mark and Kristin.