SBC Executive Director Joins Team
The Seed Biotechnology Center is proud to introduce their new Executive Director, Michael L. Campbell. Mr. Campbell became involved with the Center when it was a concept in 1998. He, as the Assistant Dean for College Relations, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, lead the Center through the process of raising funds to build programs and the Center which is now housed in the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) Plant Reproductive Biology building. In 2000 he moved to the University of California, Merced and recently completed his tenure as their Associate Vice Chancellor of University Relations.
Mr. Campbell has devoted his career to agriculture and higher education. Raised in Clarksburg, California, he was directly involved with the seed industry and associated farming industries. He earned a bachelor's degree from UC Davis and a mater's degree from Stanford University. He was a White House Fellow and a graduate of both the American Leadership Forum and California Agricultural Leadership Program. Mike has been the recipient of numerous awards and has been recognized by many organizations.
At the SBC Mr. Campbell, along with Academic Director Kent Bradford, will be responsible for providing leadership in the ongoing development and implementation of building the Center's research and education program. He will be responsible for the strategic planning and implementation of the overall operation and evaluation of programs and activities that support the SBC's mission, goals, and partnership objectives to increase its capacity to serve as a link between academic research, education programs, and the commercialization of new agricultural technologies. The Seed Biotechnology Center welcomes Mr. Campbell who will join the team on August 1, 2007.
Plant Sciences Symposium: Translational Seed Biology: From Model Systems to Crop Improvement Symposium
The ability to modify seeds with specific developmental and compositional changes provides enormous potential to meet the growing global demand for food, but only if those discoveries can be adapted to the biological requirements of seeds as propagules and the pragmatic and economic demands of the marketplace. Thus, the objective of the symposium is to bring together leading public- and private-sector scientists across all aspects of seed biology in a format that emphasizes the connections between fundamental discoveries and their applications in agriculture. Crop scientists will be motivated by the progress being made in model systems, and basic scientists will gain an appreciation of the challenges associated with bringing a concept into practice. A further objective of the symposium is to identify high priority challenges or opportunities that can be targeted by complementary research in model systems, crops and ecological settings. This focus on translational seed biology will demonstrate how public and private funding of fundamental work in model systems is being applied to benefit producers, consumers and the environment, particularly for applications in the regions of the world where the needs are greatest.
This international symposium focusing on the transfer of knowledge of seed biology developed through studies of model systems to improve the agricultural and nutritional value of crops is at the University of California, Davis, California from September 17-20, 2007. For more information go to: http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/seedsymposium2007/index.htm.
Early registration is available through July 31, 2007.
Biotechnology Regulation: Provide Your Opinion
The Public Research and Regulatory Initiative is organizing this event to introduce public researchers to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and to seek their input on the topics on the agenda of the 4th Meeting of the Parties to the CPB and the 9th Conference of the Parties to the CBD. The meeting will be held in conjunction with the Symposium (see above) on September 17, 2007. For more information go to: http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/seedsymposium2007/) and choose "Biotechnology Regulatory Meeting."
Please contact Susan DiTomaso at: scwebster@ucdavis.edu for questions or comments.