Two mycophiles met when taking their wild mushroom certification course for the State of Michigan, one of those students got the top in the class, and the other was lucky enough to pass. After that, the rest is history. Joe & Ryan have been growing, harvest, preserving and selling wild and cultivated mushrooms in the UP for 6+ years. Myconaut was born out of desire to inspire people towards solutions through radical disruption myco-tech applications, over come any residual mycophobia and just simply start cultivating fungi!
Currently the Myconaut laboratory is incubating within the Smartzone/Invent NMU building in beautiful lakeside downtown Marquette, MI.
Myconaut has submitted a NSF Small Business grant researching the fungal digestion of the forever chemical grouping known as PFAS. By the end of the 2022, we should know if we are awarded this opportunity. Myconaut continues to apply for and research disruptive myco-tech solutions for problems facing humanity. If you see what we see, join us and become a Myconaut with us.
Click here to see our pitch deck!
🍄 Let us know what you think 🙏
How it all started…
Meet the Team
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Joe Lane
CO-FOUNDER
Joe has a B.S. in biology from Northern Michigan University, and has been working in the local food system in different capacities since 2017. He has a love for food science and fermentation. You can find Joe in the woods foraging for various mushrooms or in the lab working with fungi.
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Ryan Iacovacci
CO-FOUNDER
Ryan has a B.A. in Religious Studies & a B.A. in International Relations. Ryan has 15 years of experience in agriculture, from small/large scale permaculture to local food distribution. After moving back to Michigan, he and his wife decided to settle in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 2016 and have been homesteading at Moon Mtn ever since.
Myco News
On November 8th, 2022 Joe and Ryan welcomed in the new chapter of Myconaut. The launch party was held at Barrel and Beam and showcased the many sides of fungi. To hear more, click here for the full news story.
On October 7th, 2022, TV19 WZMQ’s Sophia Murphy wrote an article detailing the innovative and interactive nature of MycoNaut. To get the full story, click here.
On June 10th, 2022, Joe Lane gave insight on where to find morel mushrooms in Marquette, MI. To read the full story on Marquette WLUC, click here.
On April 8th, 2021 Joe Lane collaborated with Visit Escanaba to talk about his methods in finding morel mushrooms in the wild. To watch the full video, click here.
On September 1st, 2018 Ryan Iacovacci coordinated an event with Northern Michigan University’s Center for Native American Studies, the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and Moosewood Nature Center. The event centered on bees as pollinators. To read the full story on The Mining Journal, click here.
On August 3rd, 2018, Ryan Iacovacci talked with the Mining Journal about the upcoming “The Gathering of the North” event at Moosewood Nature Center. To read more, click here.
On August 2nd, 2018, Ryan Iacovacci went on TV-6 to talk about the upcoming “The Gathering of the North” event. To read more about his endeavors, click here.
On October 28th, 2017, Ryan Iacovacci led a discussion of fungi and conducted a walk through the forest to identity fungi species. To learn more, click here.
On October 14th, 2017, Moosewood Nature Center wrote an article detailing the upcoming event ran by Ryan Iacovacci. To read more, click here.
On May 24th, 2017 Joe Lane was interviewed by TV6 for his exploration in foraging. Focusing on morels mushrooms, Joe outlined the difficulties in searching for the species. To read more, click here.
On March 16th, 2016 Ryan Iacovacci gave a Tedx Talk titled, ‘Beyond Big Ag, Beyond Civilization’. To watch the video click here.
