Michael Hanson, Ph.D. Picture

Michael Hanson, Ph.D.

Biology / Botany Instructor

Biography:

Dr. Michael Hanson obtained a B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Nebraska, a Ph.D. in Botany from Claremont Graduate University and Post-Doctoral research positions at the University of Minnesota and Cornell University. His specific interests are in cooperative speciation and symbiotic interactions, especially domestication of humans by plants, bacteria and animals and vice versa. Applying these interests, he has taught numerous interdisciplinary courses in sustainability practices at Elmira College, SUNY-Empire State College and Bellevue College utilizing the learning community model. Michael is not a self-made man: he benefits from the waste products of photosynthetic organisms and the storage products and bodies of plants, protists, animals and fungi, encourages alimentary bacterial growth and eyebrow mite habitation, and derives pleasure from the assistance and friendship of other life forms, including humans.