Gordon E. Uno
Department Chair and David Ross Boyd Professor
Plant Reproductive Biology, Science Education
My two main interests are plant reproductive biology and science education. I am investigating plant-animal
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| Dr. Gordon Uno in his office at the National Science Foundation in 1999. |
interactions in the Great Plains, focusing on the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma. A relatively large herd of bison is maintained in the mixed-grass prairie at the Refuge. This herd provides opportunities to investigate the effect of small-scale disturbances, such as buffalo wallows, on the dissemination, growth, and reproduction of vascular plants found in the wallows and the surrounding prairie. Current projects involve long-term analyses of the changes in vegetation within and adjacent to pre-existing wallows recently disturbed by bison and of the colonization of newly formed wallows. Another project involves a prairie legume, Psoralea tenuiflora, which grows adjacent to buffalo wallows and whose seeds are predated upon by pierid butterfly larvae. Evidence indicates this plant exhibits a novel method of defense against seed predation related to its vegetative morphology.
In terms of science education, I have just completed the textbook, Principles of Botany, with Richard Storey and Randy Moore, and I have also written a handbook for finishing Ph.D.s and new faculty members to assist them in developing a contemporary undergraduate course in biology. This survival training manual focuses on how students learn, inquiry instruction, critical thinking skills, and assessment strategies. Just before I assumed the chairmanship of this Department, I completed a two-year rotation in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation (see office above). Recently, I was elected a AAAS Fellow and an AIBS Board member. In 1995, I served as President of the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT).
Selected Publications
- Uno, G., R. Storey, and R. Moore. 2001. Principles of Botany. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company. Dubuque, IA.
- Uno, G. 1999. Handbook on Teaching Undergraduate Science Courses: A Survival Training Manual. Thomson Custom Publishing.
- BSCS. 1998. Biological Science: an ecological approach. 8th ed. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Dubuque, IA. (co-author and/or editor for the 4th-8th editions).
- Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS). 1994. Developing Biological Literacy. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Dubuque, IA. 128 pp. (principal author)
- Watson, L.E., G.E. Uno, N. A. McCarty, and A. B. Kornkven. 1994. Conservation biology of a rare plant species, Eriocaulon kornickianum (Eriocaulaceae). American Journal of Botany 81(8): 980-986.
- Uno, G.E. and R. W. Bybee. 1994. Understanding the dimensions of biological literacy. BioScience 44(8): 553-557.
- Uno, G. E. 1994. The state of precollege botanical education. American Biology Teacher 56(5): 263-266.
For more information about this program, email the Department or Dr. Gordon E. Uno.
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