10th Annual Plant Sciences Symposium

    The UW-Madison Plant Sciences Graduate Student Council hosted the 10th Annual Plant Sciences Symposium Symposium titled Zooming in on Plant Health on Friday, November 13, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first entirely virtual symposium! Recorded portions of the symposium can be found here. The symposium featured talks from six accomplished and dynamic scientists, as well as graduate student lightning talks. As part of the UN’s declaration of 2020 being the International Year of Plant Health, our speakers focused on all things plant health, big and small.

    Invited speakers:

    Dr. Diane M Beckles, Associate Professor and Associate Post-Harvest Biochemist, University of California-Davis
    Dr. Brooks Coetzee, Global Biology Leader and Corteva Laureate, Corteva Agriscience
    Dr. Shelby Ellison, Assistant Professor of Horticulture, University of Wisconsin-Madison
    Dr. Kayri Havens, Director of Plant Science and Conservation and Senior Scientist, Chicago Botanic Garden
    Dr. Linda Kinkel, Professor of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota
    Dr. Kevin Murphy, Associate Professor of Sustainable Seed Systems, Washington State University

    Student speakers:

    Cathleen McCluskey, Nelson Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison
    Elizabeth McNamee, Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison
    William Grant Morton, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison
    Karansher Sandhu, Department of Plant Breeding, Washington State University
    Ethan Weiner, Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Although the Plant Sciences Symposium is a student-run event, we would not be able to accomplish it without help from many others. Funding was graciously provided by Corteva Agriscience, Ball Horticultural Company, Calyxt, Rijk Zwaan, Syngenta A.G., and the Wisconsin Agricultural and Life Sciences Alumni Association. We would also like to acknowledge the support of the faculty in our various departments.