Greetings from the Chair

Thank you for visiting the website of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Bacteriology. For almost a century, we have been known for outstanding research and teaching, and we are committed to a future in which this excellence will continue.

In brief, we produce discoveries that contribute to basic knowledge, we develop practical applications that affect lives, and we provide superior training for the next generation of microbiologists. The training we provide allows undergraduate and graduate students to begin careers that contribute to the world in many ways -- in research, teaching, industry, entrepreneurship, scientific writing and editing, and government service. Our faculty, staff, and students have created a vibrant place to learn, teach, and conduct research, a place rich in opportunity, ideas, creativity, and resources, and a place where people can flourish and discover their own potential. Because we engage people with widely differing backgrounds, talents, perspectives, and styles, we achieve excellence through diversity.

In 2007, Bacteriology moved into a magnificent state-of-the-art new facility, the Microbial Sciences Building, a towering structure that is the largest academic building on the UW-Madison campus (appropriate for the stature of microbiology, we think!), and our Microbiology Doctoral Training Program (joint with the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology) became the premier Ph.D. program among the nation's public universities (and third ranked overall). New faculty members have increased the breadth of research and expertise in the Department, modifications of the undergraduate major better reflect the diversity of microbiology, and summer research programs have been expanded.

As a faculty member in the Department of Bacteriology for almost 25 years, I am honored to be its Chair. I am proud of its illustrious almost hundred year-long past, and I also look forward to a future full of challenges and possibilities. Each day our planet and its citizens are confronted by problems, sometimes caused, sometimes cured, by our smallest co-inhabitants. I am confident that the collective creativity and commitment of the Department will allow us to continue as a potent force in 21st century Microbiology.

We invite you to learn more about us by clicking on individual sections in this website for more information and recent developments.

Richard L. Gourse, Ph.D.
Ira L. Baldwin Professor
Chair, Department of Bacteriology