People
Faculty Directory
SUSAN KARCHER
| Assistant Professor LILY G-225 494-8083 CV: Link |
I teach BIOL 542, an upper-level laboratory course, which I designed. By using a project-oriented approach in the class, we give students the opportunity to learn a wide variety of current laboratory methods. I also teach BIOL 242, Genetics and Molecular Biology Laboratory, in which students perform experiments including genetic crosses in Drosophila, recombinant DNA cloning, and polymerase chain reaction. I direct an NSF-funded Curriculum Development project to introduce transgenic plants in undergraduate laboratories. This education system, called Blue Plants, was selected as one of ten systems nationwide to be developed for undergraduate research in the Curriculum for Undergraduate Research and NSF-sponsored Research Link 2000 program. Outside of the classroom, I am an active member of the Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE), an organization that presents workshops of outstanding biology laboratory exercises to promote education in this area. Within the organization I have served in several capacities, including editor of the annual proceedings volume, and am currently Chair of the Workshop Selection Committee for Annual Workshops. In addition, I serve as Editor of the Journal Watch feature of Bios , the quarterly publication of the biology honor society, Beta Beta Beta, and am a member of Project Kaleidoscopes Faculty of the 21st century.
Professional Faculty Research
(Plant molecular biology) Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Plant-phytopathogen interactions. Methods of teaching of molecular biology laboratories.
Awards
Governors Awards Ceremony, Indiana Conference on the Environment, Indianapolis, Indiana, November 15, 2004. The Tippecanoe labs of Lilly received a 2004 Governors Environmental Award in the area of Outreach and Education for a prairie restoration project done in collaboration with Lilly and Purdue students in Biology 295G and students at Mintonye Elementary School.
Other Activities
Editorial Boards
- American Journal for Undergradute Research
- Journal Watch Bios
Faculty Presentations
- Bioethics debate and case studies, National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) Conference, Chicago, Illinois, November 13, 2004
Grant Reviews/Study Sections
- NSF Division of Undergraduate Education, Washington DC, July 28 - July 31, 2004.
- NSF Division of Undergraduate Education Grant Review Panel, Chicago, Illinois, November 12, 2004.
Other Activities
- 26th Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE) Meeting, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio, June 8-11, 2004. Attended Board Meeting.
- NABT conference, Chicago, Illinois, November 11, 2004. Talk by Darla French (co-authored by Dr. Karcher): "A lesson in prairie conservation."