Wednesday, December 08, 2004

 

Geek Crush

I think I'm strangely attracted to Dr. Kuhlenschmidt. He's what Diggerblue would deem an "intellectual babe" (--although Digger tends to prefer the literary types, e.g. Susan Deskis).

Dr. K is a bacteriologist with a strong interest in biodefense, and has made bacteriology, a potentially dull subject, absolutely fascinating. He's not an in-your-face typical favorite-teacher type, but he's clear, his lectures interesting and relevant--he makes sure he gives us the latest research references and reports, he makes us think about the big picture even as he teaches molecular concepts, and he listens to his students and never makes us feel stupid. He's extremely friendly. He's one of those people who's overwhelmingly smart, but you'd never overwhelmed or intimidated by him because he's such a nice guy.

He's the wise "Papa Smurf" of the second year!


"This way, my little Smurfs!"


"Speaking of "stress"--this is just my opinion, but I think feedlot conditions, from what I've seen, border on cruel. Think of an animal lying on a concrete slab with no protection from the environment all its life. That's gotta be somewhat stressful."

--Dr. K, explaining why feedlot cattle and pigs are prone to opportunitic infections

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