FEBRURY

Small mammals as fungal dispersers in New England's working forests Lecture with Ben Borgmann-Winter - Wednesday, Feb. 4th​​

Ben Borgmann-Winter is a broadly trained ecologist based in Logan, Utah, where he coordinates northern operations for USU's Utah Conservation Corps. Ben received his bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College in Vermont, where he first fell in love with mushrooms. He then earned his master’s degree at the University of New Hampshire, where he studied small mammals in actively-managed timber stands.

 

His lecture will describe his graduate research into how these small, furry creatures may help our forests recover through their surprisingly important role in spore dispersal after timber harvest events.

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MARCH

​Biomechanical Engineering with Fungi with Atul Agrawal - Wednesday, March 14th
Hi, I’m Atul Agrawal. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering and a Master’s in Materials Science and Engineering. Before returning to academia, I spent six years at Intel as a Process Engineer, where I worked on developing and refining advanced semiconductor technologies. Driven by a growing interest in sustainability, I’m now pursuing a Ph.D. focused on understanding the mechanical properties of mycelium and how they can be harnessed for climate-conscious applications. My research explores mycelium-based materials for leather alternatives, foams, packaging, food systems, and construction, with the goal of turning biological materials into scalable, resilient solutions for a more sustainable future.
 
This talk is structured as a three-part journey, connecting the urgency of climate change with the surprising potential of fungi and ending with a hands-on guide to growing mycelium at home. In the first segment, we’ll explore climate change and why it demands our attention, drawing on key ideas from climate science and planetary boundaries to understand the scale and urgency of the challenge we face. The second segment dives into the world of fungi, with a focus on mycelium and its role in ecosystems and climate solutions. We’ll look at what we currently know about mycelium-based technologies, where they are already making an impact across materials, food, and construction, and where important gaps in knowledge and manufacturing still remain, based on my research.
The final segment brings everything down to earth with a practical, approachable guide to growing mycelium at home, based on my experience so far. I’ll discuss basic techniques, useful equipment, and ways to improve the strength and performance of mycelium composites, empowering attendees to experiment with sustainable materials themselves.

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APRIL

Fungi and Climate Change with Peter Pellitier - Wednesday, April 8th

Peter Pellitier is an assistant professor of Biology at University of Utah whose research focuses on understanding and predicting the fate of forest ecosystems under climate change. In particular, he strives to understand how fungal communities both respond to, and influence forest ecosystem responses to climate change. Pellitier's primarily focus on mutualistic mycorrhizal fungal communities, their influence on soil carbon cycling, forest drought-stress tolerance, and tree growth in a changing climate. His research spans a broad array of scales and disciplines, linking fungal genes to large-scale forest ecosystem processes, relying on a range of techniques involving genomics, plant and fungal physiology, and biogeochemistry. Overall, Pellitier seeks to identify fundamental plant-fungal interactions that influence forest ecosystems and utilize that knowledge to develop applied interventions that improve forest resilience in a changing climate.

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MAY (POSSIBLE—TBD)

 

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