Jim Ulrich, Adjunct Professor of Natural Sciences

Ulrich, an adjunct member of the Shimer faculty since 2004, teaches bioethics, environmental studies, biology, and general chemistry. Ulrich holds more than 20 issued and pending U.S. 

patents in the areas of specialty oils, process engineering, starch chemistry, and fermentation technology. Before teaching at Shimer, Ulrich was a research biologist at Dupont, Inc. and Cargill, Inc. and later worked as a business executive and biotechnology industry consultant. Ulrich brings this extensive industry experience to his work as Career and Graduate Advisor to Shimer’s students.

“The discussion-based classes are so much more rewarding than lectures and they give students an opportunity to interact in ways they will find useful throughout their careers.”—Jim Ulrich

EDUCATION

M.S., Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Delaware, 1988
B.S., Agriculture, Montana State University, 1984
M.B.A., International Management Specialization, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, 2002

RECENT ELECTIVES AND TUTORIALS TAUGHT
Biology
Cellular and Molecular Biology
Biology II – General Biology
Bioethics
Chemistry
Environmental Studies

AREAS OF INTEREST/SPECIALIZATION
Alternative Energy. In each of my classes we cover some aspect of energy production and utilization. We cover topics such as fuel cells, biodiesel production, or product life-cycle analysis. Global Perspectives. During the selection of course readings, I make a conscious effort to include U.S. and non-U.S. authors to give students a broader perspective on the topics we cover.