Academic Beards

Academic Beards is bemused by Professor John Boyer, a senior instructor in Virginia Tech's geography department. Boyer's alter-ego is a cartoon character called The Plaid Avenger, who features in a series of lecture videos and a text book. Doting students can also purchase a range of merchandise including stickers, comic books or a pint glass to remind themselves of Professor Boyer's prowess in the lecture hall.

Professor Boyer says:

I have been teaching in the Department of Geography since 1998, actually teaching my first course (World Regional Geography) as I was finishing up my Master's degree research. At the time, the course had an enrollment of 50 students and was one of the biggest offered in our small department. In the last decade, I have grown that course to an enrollment of 575, offered every semester, and am teaching it to 2700 students this Fall...the third time I will be breaking a record for the largest class offered at Virginia Tech. This one will be incorporating elements of on-line video and on-line student interaction, as I continue to push the envelope incorporating new technologies into the learning environment.

What does Academic Beards think about all this? We are undecided.

See for yourself: http://thejohnboyer.com/

Dr Alan Goddard, Postdoctoral Researcher, Oxford University Biomembrane Structure Unit


Goddard is interested in how G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) come together to form dimers and how this influences, and is influenced by, ligand binding and G protein activation. He uses a variety of techniques including ensemble FRET and single molecule fluorescence approaches in collaboration with Dr Mark Wallace's group in the Department of Chemistry.

http://www.bioch.ox.ac.uk/aspsite/index.asp?pageid=787