Some of us have grown robust colonies of algae, quite by accident, in a neglected bird bath. But botany staff member Ellen Duffield spends her days growing various algae and fungi deliberately for use in undergraduate laboratory classes. And she loves what she does.
“Every time I look at algae cultures through a microscope I get excited,” Duffield says without a hint of sarcasm. “I can’t help it.”
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| Ellen Duffield checks on algae and fungi in one of the Botany Department’s refrigerated growth chambers. Photo by Mary Levin. |
It’s safe to say that Duffield has one of the more unusual staff jobs in the College of Arts and Sciences. But she’s not the only one who works behind the scenes, using specialized skills to make a difference in her department.
“The quality of our staff, and the specialized expertise they provide, is tremendous,” says David Hodge, dean of Arts and Sciences. “Often their work is unknown outside of their department. But they are an absolutely essential ingredient in the success of the College.”
Here four staff members, most of whom have held their jobs for more than two decades, provide a glimpse into their unusual work.
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Ellen Duffield spends her days growing and maintaining Botany’s extensive collection of algae and fungi, which are used in undergraduate laboratory classes. The job keeps her quite busy, since each organism has its own diet, light, temperature needs, and reproductive cycle.
Coordinating a Big Blowout Production--Every Day
John Davis, a lecture demonstrator for the Department of Physics, coordinates, installs, and dismantles apparatus used in physics classes to demonstrate everything from uniform velocity to nuclear magnetic resonance. And he maintains the department’s extensive—and somewhat unwieldy—collection of nearly 1,000 demonstrations.
Forget the BMW, Try the Bösendorfer
As head piano technician for the School of Music, Steve Brady keeps the school’s 130 keyboard instruments—pianos, harpsichords, and fortepianos—in working order. That involves everything from simple piano tunings to rebuilding pianos that have deteriorated through heavy use.
Engineering—with Gabardine and Silk
Laurie Kurutz creates costumes for School of Drama productions. “All of our shows are designed by students,” she says. “We are the technicians who build the costumes that the students design. They are the architects, we are the engineers.”
[Summer 2002 - Table of Contents]