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Recently, Michael Wesch was named national professor of the year for research and doctoral universities. A few weeks later, Vincent Hofer was named a Rhodes Scholar. One teaches cultural anthropology and one studied agribusiness at Kansas State. Jon Wefald longed to hear from anyone interested in either honoree. "Nobody called," said K-State's longtime university president. Instead, intercollegiate sports dominate far more discussions.

"If you define intelligence as the capacity to solve problems, plants have a lot to teach us," says Mancuso, dressed in harmonizing shades of his favorite color: green. "Not only are they 'smart' in how they grow, adapt and thrive, they do it without neuroses. Intelligence isn't only about having a brain."

plants have a lot to contribute in fields as disparate as robotics and telecommunications. For instance, current projects at the LINV include a plant-inspired robot in development for the European Space Agency. The "plantoid" might be used to explore the Martian soil by dropping mechanical "pods" capable of communicating with a central "stem," which would send data back to Earth.

Mancuso decided to use the controversial term "plant neurobiology" to reinforce the idea that plants have biochemistry, cell biology and electrophysiology similar to the human nervous system.