Come learn about the mysterious world of thru hiking! Thru hikers take it upon themselves to trek hundreds to thousands of miles in the wilderness on trails such as the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, or Continental Divide Trail. You'll learn about the required gear, the logistics of obtaining food and water, trail hygiene, and weird trail traditions. Class will be lecture style with some short youtube videos to make the concepts come to life. We will end with a Q&A to answer all of your questions!

Metabolism refers to the processes by which organisms break down molecules to obtain energy and synthesize molecules necessary for life. Humans obtain energy by breaking down food and reducing oxygen to water in the process of aerobic respiration. However, microbes are capable of a much more diverse array of metabolisms. In this class we will cover the fundamental energetics underlying metabolism and learn about microbes that can obtain energy from weird sources including rocks and inorganic gases. We will also learn about the important role that microbial metabolisms play in wastewater treatment, the gut microbiome, bioremediation, and industrial biotechnology.