Driven by Purpose

Fellow, American Society of Agricultural Engineers
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellow, American Society of Agronomy
Fellow, Soil Science Society of America

James Jones is the Director of the Florida Climate Institute. Dr. Jones is a Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, retiring from the department in 2010. He has built a remarkable career based on using computer simulation to integrate scientific knowledge for use in agricultural decision-making. His work has been acknowledged through his advanced rank at the university, through numerous awards and honors, and through the careers of many scientists he has trained. Dr. Jones was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2012.

Jones took models for several crops that used different terms and methods and reworked them so that they could all fit into a unified modeling scheme, effectively creating a standard framework for additional crops. He also added more components to the models, including soil fertility and pest management. This modular approach made it was simpler to extend the model to more crops and to more complex scenarios.

The “model,” which was actually a collection of integrated models, was known as the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer, or DSSAT, and it has been continually improved and published for over 25 years. The technology transfer part of the name refers to the idea that agricultural technologies can be tested in the computer to reduce the number of field experiments needed before a producer makes a commitment to them. The effect of this has been to promote modern agricultural technology and management techniques and to increase food and fiber production in many regions of the world. Jones’ expertise has taken him to many countries to educate and advise, leaving behind valuable tools that local authorities and producers can use.

In the late 1990s, Jones became interested in developing a suite of applied models that would bring advances in climate prediction to agricultural producers. What came out of this effort was the Southeast Climate Consortium, which has grown to include research and extension workers from eight universities in five southeastern states. The tools are delivered through AgroClimate (www.Agroclimate.org), a Web site where extension agents and agricultural producers can access and use the expanding collection of climate-based applications. AgroClimate is supported by a team of scientists and educators who train producers how climate and decision support tools can benefit their operations. At the same time, the AgroClimate team learns from the producers and develops new tools and new approaches that meet their needs.

The SECC is a model organization, and it has been very successful. Jones has extended this idea and collaborated with climate scientists at the Florida State University to create a new climate research networking organization called the Florida Climate Institute (FCI). The goal of the FCI is to address the full range of impacts of climate variability and climate change. FCI will act as a networking and information hub aimed at fostering collaborations to address the many issues associated with climate variability, climate change, and sea level rise, and promoting awareness of research opportunities.

David A. Fischhoff, Ph.D. is an independent consultant in biotechnology and agriculture with more than 30 years of experience in R&D leadership and business development. Dr. Fischhoff has built and led programs in multiple areas of agricultural research and development. In addition, he has extensive experience in new technology identification; technology acquisition, investment and licensing; research collaboration management; and intellectual property management and defense.

Dr. Fischhoff had a 33-year career at Monsanto Company from which he retired in 2016 as Vice President, Special Projects. Among his roles at Monsanto, Dr. Fischhoff served as Chief Scientist for The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto; Vice-President for Technology Strategy & Development; and Co-President of Cereon Genomics, LLC, a collaborative research venture between Monsanto and Millennium Pharmaceuticals. In his career at Monsanto, Dr. Fischhoff was responsible for the discovery and development of insect-resistant transgenic crops, which are a major tool for insect control in corn, cotton, and soybean in multiple countries and have been planted on a cumulative total of more than one billion acres worldwide. Dr. Fischhoff is the co-inventor of the synthetic gene technology for expression of insecticidal proteins in plants, which is the enabling technology for all insect-resistant transgenic crop products in the marketplace.

Dr. Fischhoff received his S.B. in Biology from M.I.T. and a Ph.D. in Genetics and Molecular Biology from The Rockefeller University. Dr. Fischhoff is recognized as one of the founders of agricultural biotechnology, and he was the recipient of the inaugural Innovation Prize for Agricultural Technology in 2015 from the American Society of Plant Biologists for his work on insect-resistant crops, and the James B. Eads Award for outstanding achievement in technology from the Academy of Science of St. Louis. He is the inventor of key patents related to insect-resistant crops, an author of more than 25 scientific publications, and an invited speaker at numerous national and international symposia.

Per Falholt founded the company in 2016 to offer Advisory Services within R&D/Innovation, Talent Development and Relationship Building.

Clients include Corbion, Novozymes, Generation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Per chairs the Board of Governors at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the Science and Engineering Committee of The Danish Academy of Technical Sciences (ATV).

He is also a member of the Advisory Council of Emerald Technology Ventures AG.

In 2017 Per joined the Danfoss A/S Board and the Board of Universe Science Park.

He holds numerous positions of trust within the biotech area at boards, councils and committees including Cytovac (immunotherapy), Young Scientists Awards, Synapse (forum for students and young professionals within life sciences), AgroSpheres (environmentally friendly biotech solutions) and CiBO Technologies (sustainable agronomy).

Per has had a long and successful career at Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S.

In 2000 he assumed the position as the Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Novozymes and helped the company develop a unique industrial biotechnology platform which delivers solutions to meet customer needs and support growth.

Per started his career at Novo A/S in 1984 as a research chemist and subsequently held several managerial positions in Novo Nordisk A/S. In 1997 he moved to Raleigh, N.C., to head the company’s U.S. application technology unit, returning to Denmark three years later as Corporate Vice President of the Enzyme Development and Application division.

Over the years Per Falholt has been a driving force in multiple initiatives to foster talents and enhance science education in Denmark.

Per’s expertise areas include New Products Development, Research & Innovation, Patent and Regulatory issues and R&D strategies. He holds an M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark and attended a business program at IMD (International Institute for Management Development) in Lausanne.

Andrew Gelman is a professor of statistics and political science and director of the Applied Statistics Center at Columbia University. He has received the Outstanding Statistical Application award from the American Statistical Association, the award for best article published in the American Political Science Review, and the Council of Presidents of Statistical Societies award for outstanding contributions by a person under the age of 40. His books include Bayesian Data Analysis (with John Carlin, Hal Stern, David Dunson, Aki Vehtari, and Don Rubin), Teaching Statistics: A Bag of Tricks (with Deb Nolan), Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel/Hierarchical Models (with Jennifer Hill), Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State: Why Americans Vote the Way They Do (with David Park, Boris Shor, and Jeronimo Cortina), and A Quantitative Tour of the Social Sciences (co-edited with Jeronimo Cortina).

Andrew has done research on a wide range of topics, including: why it is rational to vote; why campaign polls are so variable when elections are so predictable; why redistricting is good for democracy; reversals of death sentences; police stops in New York City, the statistical challenges of estimating small effects; the probability that your vote will be decisive; seats and votes in Congress; social network structure; arsenic in Bangladesh; radon in your basement; toxicology; medical imaging; and methods in surveys, experimental design, statistical inference, computation, and graphics.

Dr. Fred E. Below is a Professor of Crop Physiology in the Department of Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois. He received his B.S, M.S, and Ph.D. degrees in Agronomy all from the University of Illinois, and he has been in his current position since 1985. His research is focused on understanding factors limiting crop productivity, particularly corn and soybean. He is author or coauthor on more than 90 peer-reviewed manuscripts, numerous abstracts, book and proceedings chapters, and he has trained more than 60 graduate and postdoctoral students. He has taught introductory crops courses to undergraduates, as well as advanced courses to graduate students, and given numerous presentations at international and national conferences, and at local meetings. He has received numerous awards for his teaching excellence and he is a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy. He developed the ‘Seven Wonders of The Corn Yield World’ and the ‘Six Secrets of Soybean Success’ as tools to teach farmers and agricultural professionals the value of their individual crop management decisions, and he is actively using these concepts to develop systems capable of sustainably producing high corn and soybean yields. He has three daughters and he and his wife live on a small farm just outside Champaign, Illinois.

Born in Rapid City, S.D., U.S.A.
Raised in several states, with summers spent working on the family farm in north-western South Dakota. Hobby of breeding ornamental peppers for over 35 years, popcorn for 10 years, hiking and biking, home remodeling.

Education:
Institution:    Degree  Year  Field of Study
N.C. State University   Post-doc 1984-86 Quantitative Genetics
University of Wisconsin, Madison Ph. D.  1983  Plant Breeding & Genetics
University of Wisconsin, Madison M.S.  1981  Horticulture
Kansas State University   B.S.   1978  Agriculture, Honors Program
Professional Experience:
2016 to current: Consultant in Plant Genetics and Agricultural Technology
2006-2016 Chief Technology Officer, Vegetable Business, Monsanto Company. Location: Woodland, CA.
2000-2005, Global V.P. of Breeding Technology for Monsanto. Location: St. Louis, MO.
1998-2000, Global V.P. of Genomics for the Monsanto Seed Business. Location: St. Louis, MO.
1998. V. P. of Research and Technology, Novartis Seeds, Inc. – NAFTA Field Crops. Location: Golden Valley, MN.
1996-1997 Director of Molecular Markers and Applied Biotechnology, Novartis Seeds, Inc. Location: Stanton, MN.
1994-1995 Director of Biotechnology for Northrup King Co. Location: Stanton, MN.
1992-1994. Director of Agricultural Research of Green Giant, Pillsbury Company. Location:
1988-1992. Program Leader of Breeding and Biotechnology for Green Giant Company. Location: LeSueur, MN.
1986-1988. Corn Breeder, Green Giant Company. Location: LeSueur, MN.
1984-1986. Post-Doc. in lab of C.S. Stuber, North Carolina State University, Department of Genetics.
1979-1983. Graduate Research Assistant. Location: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Horticulture.
1972-1979. Various work experiences in high school and while self-funding my college education, including: farming, construction, greenhouse work, auto mechanic work .

Community Activity:
Member of Board of Directors, Woodland United Way from 2015 to 2017
Patents: Inventor on 7 granted patents and another 10+ patent applications.
Selected Publications:
Eathington, S.R, T. M. Crosbie, M. D. Edwards, R. S Reiter and J.K Bull. 2007. Molecular Markers in a Commercial Breeding Program. Crop Science 47: 154-163.

RFLPs for Rapid Recurrent Selection. 1994. Proceedings of the symposium: Analysis of Molecular Marker Data. pp.33-40. Publ. Joint Plant Breeding Symposium Series of the American Society for Horticultural Society and the Crop Science Society of America.

Edwards, M.D. and N. J. Page. 1994. Evaluation of marker assisted selection through computer simulation. Theor. Appl. Genet. 88:376-382.

Edwards, M.D. 1992. Use of molecular markers in the evaluation and introgression of genetic diversity for quantitative traits. Field Crops Research 29:241-260.

Edwards, M. D., T. Helentjaris, S. Wright and C. W. Stuber. 1992. Molecular-marker-facilitated investigations of quantitative trait loci in maize. IV: Analysis based on genome saturation with isozyme and restriction-fragment-length-polymorphism markers. Theor. Appl. Genet. 83:765-774.

Abler, B. S. B., M. D. Edwards and C. W. Stuber. 1991. Isoenzymatic identification of quantitative trait loci in crosses of elite maize inbreds. Crop Sci. 31:267-274.

Doebley, J. A. Stec, J Wendel and M. Edwards. 1990. Genetic and morphological analysis of a maize-teosinte F2 population: Implications for the origin of maize. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:9888-9892.

Stuber, C. W., M.D. Edwards and J. F. Wendel. 1987. Molecular-marker-facilitated investigations of quantitative trait loci in maize. II: Factors influencing yield and its component traits. Crop Sci. 27:639-648.

Edwards, M. D., C. W. Stuber and J. F. Wendel. 1987. Molecular-marker-facilitated investigations of quantitative trait loci in maize. I: Numbers, Distribution and types of gene action. Genetics 116: 113-125.

Edwards, M.D. and P. H. Williams. 1987. Selection for minor gene resistance to Albugo candida in a rapid-cycling population of Brassica campestris. Phytopath. 77: 527-532.

Lower, R.L. and M. D. Edwards. 1985. Cucumber Breeding. In: Breeding Vegetable Crops. Ed. M. J. Bassett. AVI Publishing Co., Westport, Connecticut, pp. 173-207.

G. Philip (Phil) Robertson is University Distinguished Professor of Ecosystem Science in the Dept. of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. He is also a resident faculty at MSU’s WK Kellogg Biological Station, where he has been based since the mid-1980’s. He is currently science director for the DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, and from 1988-2016 he directed the NSF Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program in Agricultural Ecology at MSU. His research interests include the biogeochemistry and ecology of field crop and bioenergy ecosystems, and in particular nitrogen and carbon dynamics, greenhouse gas fluxes, and the influence of climate change in these systems. He received his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 1980 from Indiana University and his B.A. in 1976 from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He is a Fellow of AAAS and the Soil Science Society of America and has served on a number of national and international advisory boards and committees for NSF, USDA, EPA, DOE, and the National Research Council, among others.