OK, I won’t mince words……it’s COLD out there! It’s about -10 right now and going to be -30 tonight. Yowzers! There are a bunch of hardy (silly?) folks right outside of my office window ice fishing right now. Dr. Cloutman has the right idea in my mind….he’s going to stay inside and send his class outside to drill holes in the ice to get samples for fish managment!

This morning in Limnology II we started the phytoplankton growth rate experiment. We’ll let you know how it turns out! Walking down the hall this morning was interesting and sounded suspiciously like spring as bird calls were eminating from Dr. Rave’s Ornithology lab. Thursdays are Dr. Ketel’s big day as she teaches 3 medical microbiology labs in a row. Dr. Drewes is working on nailing down the meanings and definitions of some common (but often missused words!) in Conservation Biology. Dr. Greenberg is teaching both Soils (a HUGE class) and People and the Environment this semester, so she is busier than ever.

We wanted to give a big shout out to Matt Phillips who successfully defended his master’s right before Christmas. Dr. Guelda and the committee just signed off on the final thesis and it’s all said and done. Matt, you were a fantastic student and one of the best we’ve ever had. Thanks for setting the bar so high. You are already sorely missed.