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The Michigan Alumnus 42
KENNETH L. JONES, Ph.D.'33, Professor of Botany and Chairman of the Department, has been a member of the facuity since 1929. What he enjoys most of all, by his own confession, is the teaching of science to non-science students, primarily the beginners. His field of specialization is soil microbiology, and he is especially interested in Streptomyces, the microbe that pro duces streptomycin. Dr. Jones is cred ited with the discovery of a new species of Streptomyces that produces vitamin B12, and is now in commercial produc tion. He is the author of papers on Streptomyces, as well as on the condi tions that control male and female flowers.
Born December 3, 1905, at Keweenaw Bay, Mich., he earned his A.B. degree at Syracuse University. He is a member of Phi Sigma, Sigma Xi, the Michigan Academy of Science, Bacteriological Society of America, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Botanical Society of America. He is Chairman of the Teaching Division of the latter organization. Besides these activities, Dr. Jones has served for many years as an academic counselor and as a member of the Scholarship Committee of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Currently he is a mem ber of the Executive Committee of the Biological Station, and is Chairman of the Teaching Section of the Univer sity's Division of Biological Sciences.
During 1948-50, he was engaged in a research project for Commercial Solvents, on antibiotics. Aside from his academic work, Dr. Jones has been active in the Methodist church's Wes ley Foundation, and has been Chair man of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation. He is married to the for mer Wilma Oppenborn, and they have two children — a son, Roland, now a Freshman in the University School of Music, and a daughter, Hannah Jones Chamberlin.