Biological sciences faculty member to be recognized for 50 years

[Guest guest]

Miles enjoys working retirement

Biological sciences faculty member to be recognized for 50 years of

service

By KEVIN FRYLING

Reporter Contributor

http://www.buffalo.edu/reporter/vol37/vol37n28/articles/MilesFeature.

html

Although he officially retired four years ago at age 80, Philip

Miles, emeritus professor of biological sciences, is still on campus

three to four times a week to teach and serve on committees.

Although he officially retired four years ago at age 80,

Miles continues to teach a course each semester on fungi, his

specialty, in the Department of Biological Sciences.

PHOTO: NANCY J. PARISI

Miles will be honored for 50 years of service to UB at the second

annual Celebration of Academic Excellence on April 20 in the Center

for the Arts, North Campus.

" I came to UB in 1956, " says Miles. " That was the first year we

turned out a Ph.D. student in biology.

" At that time, the biology department had about nine members. I had

just come from postdoctoral work at Harvard University. I started

off at a salary of $5,000, " he recalls. " That amazes people now, " he

chuckles.

Miles received a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1948

after a three-year stint in the armed forces during World War II

postponed his studies. He was stationed stateside in the reserve

corps, he says. He received a doctorate from Indiana University.

Miles specializes in mycology—the science that deals with fungi—and

his work has focused on the complex sexual mechanisms and genetic

control involved in fungi reproduction.

He started out teaching Biology 101 and was at UB about six years

when offered the chance to teach his first course on fungi.

He went on to serve as department co-chair from 1968-70 and chair

from 1972-74.

Miles estimates the number of faculty in his department has tripled

since the mid-1950s. He notes there also has been a general shift in

the field of biological sciences: a move from morphology—the study

of the structural elements of organisms, such as stems and roots—to

the study of more microscopic components, such as tissues, cells and

other fine structures that became observable due to technological

advances.

" I feel the strength of our program is the opportunities we afford

students to do independent studies, " Miles says. " I've had a great

deal of experience throughout the years assisting graduate and

undergraduate students with their projects. "

Miles, who received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in

Teaching in 1998, now teaches one course each semester at

UB: " Morphology of Plants and Fungi " and " Fungi and Their Medical

Importance, " which, he says, attracts medical students who want to

learn about the overlooked role of fungi in diseases.

" It's important for people going into the health professions to have

some knowledge of these diseases. " Miles says, explaining that

patients who have lowered immune systems, such as those with

HIV/AIDS, are at the greatest risk.

Miles also studies edible mushrooms—an interest that he traces to

his academic partnership with S.T. Chang, a biologist at the Chinese

University of Hong Kong, with whom he co-founded the World Society

of Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products.

Miles has traveled to Japan, China and Taiwan numerous times to

conduct research and teach. His relationship with Asian universities

began in 1963-64 when he spent more than a year at Okayama

University in Japan as a Fulbright Research Scholar.

Miles says one of the highlights of these trips came in 1994 when he

was invited to participate in the International Symposium on

Production and Products of Lentinus Mushroom in Qingyuan, China. He

points out that Qingyuan is known as the " mushroom city " because it

produces the most shiitake mushrooms in the world. To accommodate

the event, officials in Qingyuan constructed a three-star hotel, a

modern marketplace and a research laboratory.

" It was a 10-hour car trip from Fujian to Qingyuan, " Miles

remembers. " It was a beautiful ride through the mountains, but the

roads were poor. There was a holiday for the opening of this meeting

and all the schoolchildren were out and in costumes, and we were

paraded from the hotel to the conference. I've never seen anything

quite like it. "

Miles has a lot of memories of his distinguished career at UB. He

notes the time he hosted in his home the famous British-born

botanist Thimann, who visited Buffalo as part of the

Hackett Memorial Lectures in the 1970s. Miles and his colleagues

founded the series to honor a former UB professor.

He also remembers all of his Ph.D. students, as well as their

spouses, whom he often welcomed into his home over the years for

graduate seminars and coffee.

He is still in touch with at least one of those former students and

expects to visit with him this month.

Miles credits his wife, Eleanor, with being his constant partner

throughout his career. An English teacher in the Buffalo Public

Schools, she has been his editor on numerous projects. He notes she

often put in late nights with him when he created lesson plans as a

new professor. The couple has three children and three grandchildren.

The author of several books in recent years, Miles' current project

is a textbook entitled " Biology of the Fungi: Principles and Effects

on Health. "

He also serves on the Pre-Professional Health Committee and the

President's Panel for the Review of Search Procedures.