Writing with Dead Man's Finger -- Fungal Ink Production
Graduate Student Name
Zielle Walsh
Email Address
Faculty mentor/Supervisor
Dr. Seri Robinson
Email Address (Faculty mentor/Supervisor)
Department Affiliation
Wood Science & Engineering
Job Location
Richardson 171
Description of project or research opportunity
The goal of this project is to produce significant quantities of spalting melanin for the CoF WSE Applied Mycology lab, a product which has already demonstrated demand in the global woodworking and wood art community. Students in Professor Seri "Dr. Spalting" Robinson's lab cultivate fungi that discolor wood during the process of decay in a process called spalting. The lab has recently developed a process for extracting melanin from spalting fungi, and needs greater quantities for use in exploring its applications. The role of the student will be to learn liquid culture cultivation techniques to produce large (500-1000mL) batches of liquid media, which the student will then use to culture Xylaria polymorpha for the extraction of fungal melanin. The student will also practice the extraction process, which requires chemistry equipment and techniques. Given time, the student may also be able to explore possible uses of the pigment, including making it into a linseed oil-based ink for wood application.
Tasks student will perform
The student will:
-Maintain lab hygiene (dishwashing, sanitation, storage, sweeping, mopping, cleaning counters)
-Maintain ongoing experiments (operating sanitizing machinery, mixing growth media and creating new plates and slants, inoculation, extraction, measuring pigments)
-Assist lab manager and PI with laboratory inventory (glassware, media components, labeling and documentation materials)
-Maintain lab hygiene (dishwashing, sanitation, storage, sweeping, mopping, cleaning counters)
-Maintain ongoing experiments (operating sanitizing machinery, mixing growth media and creating new plates and slants, inoculation, extraction, measuring pigments)
-Assist lab manager and PI with laboratory inventory (glassware, media components, labeling and documentation materials)
Special skills required
The undergraduate is ideally a student already working with the lab. Familiarity with microbiology or chemistry preferred. Students will need to train in laboratory safety and technical procedures involving high temperature liquids, hazardous chemicals, and advanced machinery (i.e. rotovap, fume hood, autoclave, etc.).
Proposed dates of employment
-
Anticipated hours worked per week
5-10