13th Annual Plant Sciences Symposium
The UW – Madison Plant Sciences Graduate Student Council (PSGSC) is excited to host our 13th Annual Plant Sciences Symposiums on Friday, November 3rd from 9AM – 4:30PM at the Discovery Building on UW – Madison’s campus. This year’s symposium is titled Firmly Rooted: Perseverance through Challenges and will explore the grit and relentlessness of plant scientists.
This event is part of the Corteva Agriscience Symposia Series. We are thankful for their continued collaboration and support in fostering plant science connections across UW – Madison and beyond.
Symposium Speakers
Dr. Amanda Gevens, University of Wisconsin – Madison
Dr. Amanda Gevens is a professor and chair in the UW-Madison Department of Plant Pathology. Amanda is an extension specialist with highly engaged research supporting sustainable disease management of potato and vegetable crops in Wisconsin and beyond. She is currently serving as the interim administrative director of the Wisconsin Seed Potato Certification Program and is the Fritz Friday Chair for Vegetable Production Research. Amanda is highly accessible to growers and allied industry partners and works to translate her work in pathogen ecology, innovative diagnostics, and reduced risk/non-chemical plant health strategies to growers of all production types (conventional, organic, home garden) and scales. Amanda enthusiastically engages with students in her research and extension endeavors in support of the next generation of pragmatically trained applied agricultural scientists.
Dr. Andrew Groover, US Forest Service & UC – Davis
Andrew Groover is a Research Geneticist with the US Forest Service and Adjunct Professor of Plant Biology at the University of California Davis. After spending 20 years at Davis, he recently moved his lab to the University of Vermont campus in Burlington. Andrew’s lab studies the development and physiology of forest trees, with many studies focusing on wood development. Wood is the water conducting tissue of trees, and the anatomical features of wood and associated water conducting cells have major implications for the mitigation of risk to hydraulic failure under drought. Wood development is unusually plastic and involves the integration of environmental cues into complex developmental mechanisms to produce tissues that are suited to current environmental conditions. As illustrated by tree rings, trees are constantly monitoring and anticipating environmental changes and adjusting the amount and functional properties of wood appropriately. Some of our recent studies are describing the effects of gene copy variation on wood formation and other complex traits in trees, including variation in the size and properties of water conducting cells that provide resilience to drought.
Dr. Gayle Volk, USDA ARS
Gayle’s research programs focus on developing efficient management approaches for vegetatively propagated collections in the USDA National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) using a wide range of techniques. With the apple collection as a model system, we have identified and explored novel diversity, collected wild species, developed tools to identify heritage apple trees on public lands, and co-authored “A Global Strategy for the Conservation and Use of Apple Genetic Resources”. We also develop and implement cryopreservation methods for preserving dormant buds and shoot tips of citrus, grapes, garlic, Prunus, and other crops at the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation. Gayle has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, and outreach articles. Recently, her team and collaborators published an assessment of how the NPGS could be affected by the changing climate. In addition, Gayle is co-coordinator of an effort to build and release public training materials relating to the conservation and use of plant genetic resources.
Dr. Torbert Rocheford, Purdue University & NutraMaize
Dr. Rocheford is the CoFounder and Chief Technology Officer of NutraMaize LLC as well as the current Patterson Endowed Chair in Translational Genomics for Crop Improvement at Purdue University. He has been an invited speaker at many national and international conferences, where his expertise in plant breeding has been showcased. Originally a Zoology major, Dr. Rocheford pursued plant breeding and genetics through a masters program and later a Ph.D at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Rocheford’s work inside and outside academia is a story of remaining firmly rooted in one’s passion to further the field’s understanding and appreciation for corn and plant breeding.
Dr. Barbara Decré, Savanna Institute
Barbara Decré is the Agroforestry Programs Manager at the Savanna Institute, a nonprofit organization that works with farmers and scientists to lay the groundwork for widespread agroforestry adoption in the Midwest US. She works with the Adoption Team to share knowledge about agroforestry practices and develop strong relationships with farmers in the Midwest. She leads Savanna Institute’s work to grow a network of technical service providers through two Partnership for Climate Smart Commodity grants with Organic Valley and the Nature Conservancy. These projects aim at scaling up agroforestry adoption through design assistance and new funding pathways for agroforestry farmers. Originally from France, Barbara has an agronomy masters degree from L’Institut Agro in Montpellier and a PhD from UW-Madison where she studied the social aspects of agroforestry, land access for women, and storytelling.
Dr. Todd Jones, Corteva Agriscience
Todd is the Research Director for the Crop Genome Engineering (CGE) team at Corteva Agriscience and Pillar Leader for Corteva’s Ag Equity initiatives. The Crop Genome Engineering team is part of Genomic Technologies and is focused on developing and implementing new transformation and genome editing technologies in various crop species. As the Pillar Leader for Corteva’s Ag Equity Initiatives, Todd oversees collaborations with academic labs, research institutes and government agencies focused on humanitarian agricultural projects, often with funding from non-profit foundations. The projects are focused on developing sustainable solutions and creating value for smallholder farmers in Africa and South Asia.
