2009 Awards and Honors Ceremony&

Presidential Ceremony

Tuesday, August 4Portland, Oregon

The American Phytopathological Society

Awards & Honors CeremonyTuesday, August 45:30–6:45 p.m.

Welcome and IntroductionsJames W. Moyer, APS President

APS Early Career Recognition James W. Moyer, APS President

• International Travel Award•9th I. E. Melhus Symposium Presenters•Schroth Faces of the Future Symposium•APS Public Policy Early Career Internship•Student Travel Awards

Presentation of the APS Awards Raymond D. Martyn, APS Past President

•APS Fellows•Excellence in Extension Award•Excellence in Industry Award•Excellence in Teaching Award• International Service Award•Ruth Allen Award•Lee M. Hutchins Award•Noel T. Keen Award for Research Excellence in Molecular Plant Pathology •Syngenta Award Allison Tally, Syngenta Crop Protection

International Travel Award

The APS Foundation, in cooperation with the Office of International Programs, has established this travel fund to support travel costs for early- to mid-career international APS members to participate in an APS annual meeting. This fund is intended to support scientists native to and working in developing countries that otherwise would not be able to attend APS meetings.

9th I. E. Melhus Graduate Student Symposium

This prestigious symposium features presentations on graduate thesis research heralding novel approaches aimed at providing a better understanding of the links between pre- and post-harvest losses in yield and quality. The symposium is named in honor of Irving E. Melhus, a renowned teacher and outstanding researcher and pioneer in the field of plant pathology at what was then Iowa State College.

Saori Amaike University of

Wisconsin-Madison

Pravin GautamUniversity of Minnesota

Peter Horevaj University of Arkansas

Claudia Probst University of Arizona

Anissa M. Poleatewich

Pennsylvania StateUniversity

Katelyn T. Willyerd Pennsylvania State

University

APS Early Career Recognition

Schroth Faces of the Future Early Career Professionals Symposium

The Schroth Faces of the Future in Bacteriology—A Look to the Future Symposium, is designed to acknowledge the “up and comers” in bacteriology. The awardees have the opportunity to highlight their current work and speculate on the future directions of their discipline. This symposium was made possible by a generous donation from Milt and Nancy Schroth. Milt Schroth is an internationally known expert on bacterial diseases, systematics, and biocontrol.

Rodrigo P. P. AlmeidaUniversity of

California-Berkeley

Johan H. J. LeveauUniversity of

California-Davis

Brenda K. SchroederWashington State

University

Youfu ZhaoUniversity of Illinois

Oscar Alberto Moreno ValenzuelaYucatan Scientific Research Center (CICY), Mexico

APS Public Policy Early Career Internship

The goal of the APS Public Policy Early Career Internship is to provide an opportunity for the selected individual to gain hands-on experience in public policy at the national level that relates generally to agricultural science and specifically to matters of interest to APS. By working with the APS Public Policy Board, the intern learns how scientific societies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), executive branch agencies (e.g., USDA, NSF, EPA, etc.), and the legislative branch interact in crafting public policy.

Martiza AbrilLouisiana State

University

APS Early Career Recognition

The José and Silvia Amador Award

Maria Carolina Quecine

University of São Paulo

The Elsie J. and Robert Aycock AwardJessica Gigot

Washington State University

The J. Artie and Arra Browning Awards

Grant PooleWashington State

University

The Gustaaf A. and Ineke de Zoeten Award

Jessica KoczanMichigan State

University

The Zahir Eyal Award Kylea OdenbachThe Ohio State

University

The John F. Fulkerson Award

Stephanie RogersOklahoma State

University

The Janell Stevens Johnk Award

Alissa KrissThe Ohio State

University

The Stephen A. Johnston Award

Jonathan JacobsUniversity of

Wisconsin-Madison

The Arthur Kelman Award

Kestrel LannonNorth Carolina State University

The C. Lee Campbell Award

Sydney EverhartUniversity of Georgia

The Caribbean Division Award

Mauricio Montero Astúa

Kansas State University

The H. J. Dubin Student Travel Award

in honor of the Peace Corps

Kaoutar El MounadiSIUC

The Robert W. Fulton Award

Carola De La TorreThe Ohio State

University

The Richard L. Gabrielson Award

James ZanzotAuburn University

The Raymond G. Grogan Award

Michelle MoyerCornell University

The Evanthia D. and D. G. Kontaxis Award

Ganyu GuMississippi State

University

The Tsune Kosuge Award

Fushi WenUniversity of Arizona

The Don E. Mathre Award

Heather Olson North Carolina State University

Student Travel Awards

The APS Foundation is pleased to provide APS Annual Meeting Named Student Travel Awards to the following 28 individuals, selected out of a competitive pool of more than 70 applicants.

The Donald E. Munnecke Award Lakmini WasalaOklahoma State

University

TThe John S. Niederhauser Award

Rebecca SweanyLouisiana State

University AgCenter

The Albert Paulus Award

ErnestoRobayo-CamachoClemson University

The John M.Barnes Award and The William

Malcolm Brown, Jr. Award

Jane StewartWashington State

University

The Eddie Echandi Award and

The H. David Thurston Award Rachel MelnickPennylvania State

University

The Joseph P. Fulton Award and The Landis International Award

Xiaopeng WangMichigan State

University

TThe Luis Sequeira Award

Kameka JohnsonUniversity of Georgia

The Virology AwardThanuja Thekke

VeetilUniversity of

Illinois-Champagne-Urbana

The Kyung Soo Kim Award and

The Malcolm C. Shurtleff Award

Qing-Ming GaoUniversity of Kentucky

The Milt and Nancy Schroth Award and The George Herman

Starr AwardAmy Replogle

University of Missouri

APS Early Career Recognition

APS Fellows

The society grants this honor to a current APS member in recognition of distinguished contributions to plant pathology or to The American Phytopathological Society.

James C. Carrington was born in Redondo Beach, California. He obtained a B.S. degree from the University of California, Riverside in 1982 and a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1986. Upon graduation, he was awarded a National Institutes of Health post-doctoral fellowship. In 1988, he joined the faculty of Texas A&M University and, in 1997, he joined the faculty of Washington State University. In 2001, he began his current position as professor

and director of the Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing at Oregon State University. Carrington has made pioneering contributions in plant virology. His codiscovery of viral suppressors of RNA silencing led to a paradigm shift in our view of plant susceptibility to viruses and provided the most compelling evidence for a natural function of RNA silencing. Subsequent discoveries revealed how silencing suppressors inhibit antiviral defense and interfere with endogenous small RNA-directed pathways. Carrington is also a leader in the RNA-based biology of plants. His pioneering work revealed the diversity and functions of endogenous small RNA pathways, which significantly altered our understanding of gene regulation in plants. Carrington’s scientific contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, most notably his recent election to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the most prestigious honors that can be made to a scientist in the United States. Carrington has an extraordinary record for professional service, and he has mentored many graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, who have gone on to establish successful scientific careers.

Marty Carson was born in Mowequa, Illinois, and grew up with three brothers in Arcola, Illinois, where his mother taught elementary school and his father owned and operated a grocery store. He received a B.S. degree in botany from Eastern Illinois University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant pathology from the University of Illinois under the direction of Arthur L. Hooker. In 1980, Carson joined the Plant Science Department at South Dakota State University, Brookings, where

he conducted research on diseases of maize and sunflower and taught several undergraduate and graduate courses, including introductory plant pathology. In 1989, he joined the USDA-ARS Plant Science Research Unit, Raleigh, North Carolina, working on maize diseases. In 2002, he became research leader and director of the USDA-ARS Cereal Disease Laboratory, St. Paul, Minnesota, with research responsibilities on oat crown rust. Carson is best known for his research on maize diseases and the application of quantitative genetic methods to their study. His research has ranged from basic quantitative genetic theory to the applied development of agronomically superior, disease-resistant inbred lines of maize. He has made valuable contributions in the areas of etiology, epidemiology, pathogen population biology, and breeding for resistance to diseases in row crops, particularly maize. He is frequently invited to speak about his research on disease resistance in maize, as well as review competitive grant

APS Awards

proposals and research papers. He has served APS as an associate editor for Plant Disease and as associate and senior editor for Phytopathology.

Ann Renee Chase earned a B.S. degree in biology and a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology from the University of California, Riverside. In 1979, she joined the University of Florida, Central Florida Agricultural Research and Education Center at Apopka, where she conducted research on diseases of ornamentals and was promoted to full professor in 1988. In 1994, Chase started a contract research business in California, Chase Horticulture Research, where she serves as president. During her tenure

in academia, Chase investigated numerous foliar and soilborne pathogens and described more than 25 new diseases. She developed integrated pest management strategies incorporating the effects of plant nutrition on disease control and promoted resistance management and sustainability through minimizing fungicide use. A hallmark of Chase’s research has been the early adoption of her research results by the horticultural/floral industries. When Chase began her private practice, she continued research on ornamentals but broadened the scope to include seeds/variety testing, plant nutrition, application technology, and plant growth regulators. These efforts have furthered her development of best use guidelines for many production practices. Chase has a passion for writing and has authored/coauthored more than 75 refereed papers, three APS compendia, five books, and more than 600 popular and trade articles. She has received several awards for service, research, and writing and frequently is an invited speaker at short courses, seminars, and workshops. She has been active in APS, serving as chair of the Foundation Board, on the Editorial Board of APS PRESS, as senior editor of Plant Disease, as section editor of Biological and Cultural Tests, and as chair of several subject matter committees.

Cesare Gessler received his Ph.D. degree in 1977 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, where he began his career in 1981. He was granted the title of professor in 2006, a distinct honor in the university system. Gessler is internationally respected for his research in two important pathosystems: scab of apples and downy mildew of grapevine. He was a pioneer in cloning resistance genes to Venturia inaequalis from wild apple and produced the first “cisgenic” variety resistant to scab. He also

generated much to our knowledge of population genetics in Venturia inaequalis and provided the first hard evidence that races might adapt to the Vf gene: the foundation of resistance in breeding programs worldwide. Gessler questioned assumptions regarding the epidemiology of grapevine downy mildew and creatively used microsatellite markers to demonstrate that persistent oosporic inoculum often (and incongruously) outweighed the contribution of secondary inoculum. His 29 former Ph.D. students are now widely dispersed and hold positions in research, teaching, and extension throughout Europe. He has greatly facilitated communication and collaboration among fruit pathologists through his leadership of international working groups. Significantly, Gessler has accepted the sometimes thankless task of being a reasoned and good-humored voice in discussions of genetically modified crops on the European continent, and his balanced critique of misapplications of such technology lent credibility to his support of selective and low-risk uses of GMOs to reduce environmental impacts of agriculture.

Walter Douglas Gubler graduated from Southern Utah State College with a B.S. degree in botany in 1970 and received an M.S. degree in plant pathology from the University of Arkansas in 1974. From 1974 to 1982, he was a post-graduate research plant pathologist at the University of California, Davis, and during this period began his studies toward a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology, which he received in 1982. He joined the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis, in 1983

as an extension specialist. Gubler has one of the most distinguished and robust programs of extension within the University of California system. He leads a productive and vibrant mission-oriented research program that is directed at diseases of small perennial fruit crops. He has made seminal contributions in our understanding of the biology, epidemiology, and control of foliar pathogens with emphasis on grapevine and strawberry diseases. Notable among these are the use of leaf removal for Botrytis bunch rot control in grape, development of a risk assessment model for powdery mildew of grapes, and the etiology and epidemiology of esca, or vine decline, in grapevines. Gubler’s contributions to the science of plant pathology are well recognized, leading to many invitations to speak at national and international meetings and to a number of awards, including the APS Extension Award, the APS Pacific Division Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Chevalier de L’Ordre des Coteaux De Champagne (France, honorary). Gubler has trained many graduate students in plant pathology who have gone on to lead productive careers. He has served APS in numerous ways, the most recent as president of the Pacific Division.

John Franklin Leslie was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1953. He received a B.A. degree in biology from the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas, in 1975. He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1977 and 1979, respectively. He worked as a post-doc with David Perkins at Stanford University from 1979 to 1981. In 1981, he began studying Fusarium as a research microbiologist at the International Minerals & Chemical Corporation. He joined the faculty of

the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University in 1984 and was promoted to professor in 1996, and became department head in 2006. Leslie is a world authority on the genetics, taxonomy, and population biology of Fusarium species. His book, The Fusarium Laboratory Manual, is the standard reference for identification of Fusarium species. Significant research accomplishments include developing standard mating group tester strains for distinguishing independent mating populations within the Fusarium genus and developing and modeling the vegetative compatibility group (VCG) concept for population analysis in Fusarium and other fungal genera. The VCG technique led to the first papers defining the population structure of Fusarium species. Leslie’s lab was the first to produce genetic linkage maps of species in the genus Fusarium. He has been an associate editor for Phytopathology and a past member and chair of the APS Genetics Committee. With colleagues from Italy, Australia, Malaysia, Korea, and South Africa, Leslie organizes an annual Fusarium Laboratory Workshop that is held alternately in Manhattan, Kansas, and at international sites.

David Marshall is location coordinator and research leader of the USDA-ARS Plant Science Research Unit in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a professor of plant pathology and crop science at North Carolina State University. With the USDA-ARS, Marshall supervises and administers 10 senior scientists and 50 support staff. Throughout his career, Marshall has conducted a highly productive research program in the breeding and genetics of small grains, with particular emphasis on disease resistance. In his

programs at Texas A&M and the USDA-ARS, Marshall has released many disease-resistant small grain cultivars that have been grown on millions of acres in the United States. For APS, Marshall has served as chair of the Genetics Committee and as member of the Epidemiology Committee. He has also served as an associate and senior editor for Phytopathology, and as an associate editor for Plant Disease. Marshall has made extensive contributions internationally, helping to breed disease- and pest-resistant crops for New Zealand, Turkey, Uruguay, Syria, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, and Ethiopia. He is a fellow of the Crop Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy. Since 2004, Marshall has co-led a team of researchers in identifying new sources of resistance to Pgt Ug99, a potentially devastating new strain of wheat stem rust. For this work, Marshall and his team received the prestigious 61st annual USDA Honor Award in 2008.

Rick Nelson obtained his A.B. degree in biology and psychology in 1978 from Washington University, his M.S. degree in agronomy in 1982, and his Ph.D. degree in biology in 1985 from the University of Illinois. As a post-doctoral fellow at Washington University, he and his colleagues showed that plants could be made resistant to virus challenge through genetic engineering. He became an assistant scientist at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in 1988 and is now a professor there. He has authored

or coauthored more than 80 scientific papers. Nelson’s research centers on understanding virus movement and accumulation throughout the host. His laboratory was the first to determine the vascular invasion capacity of a virus and to show that a Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV)-encoded protein and the TMV replication complex traffic along microfilaments within the cell, suggesting a new model for TMV transport to plasmodesmata. He has been active in the field of RNA silencing and his laboratory determined that Nicotiana benthamiana, a favorite lab “rat” for plant virologists, was a natural mutant for a gene associated with the RNA silencing pathway. Recently, his laboratory developed Brome mosaic virus as a vector for functional genomics studies through virus-induced gene silencing. Nelson has a long record as a research collaborator and in professional service. He served as an associate editor for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions from 1997 to 1999 and for Phytopathology from 1998 to 1999 and as senior editor for Phytopathology from 2000 to 2002. For 15 years, Nelson has been instrumental in securing financial support for APS special sessions sponsored by the Virology Committee.

APS Awards

Timothy Paulitz earned a B.S. degree from California State Polytechnic University in 1979 and a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology from the University of California, Riverside, in 1984. He held post-doctoral appointments at Colorado State University and with the USDA-ARS in Corvallis, Oregon, before joining McGill University in 1989. In 2000, he joined the USDA-ARS in Pullman, Washington. Paulitz is recognized as an international leader in research on the ecology, epidemiology, biocontrol,

and cultural management of soilborne pathogens. He is widely sought as a conference speaker and has authored or coauthored more than 140 publications. His current research focuses on soilborne pathogens of small grains. He has elucidated the complex of Pythium and Rhizoctonia species that affects cereal crops; described new species and groups of Pythium and Rhizoctonia; and developed molecular techniques for the quantification of these pathogens in soil. This research has had huge benefit to growers. Paulitz has served APS as senior editor and associate editor-in-chief of APS PRESS and as senior editor and associate editor of Phytopathology. He is deeply committed to training future scientists and has supervised 22 M.S. students, nine Ph.D. students, and five post-doctoral researchers. He has taught seven different courses in plant pathology and mycology. For his commitment to science education among Native American grade school students, he received the USDA-ARS’s 2008 National Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity Award.

Patrick M. Phipps was born in New Martinsville, West Virginia. He received his B.S. degree in biology from Fairmont State College in 1970, his M.S. degree in plant pathology from Virginia Tech in 1972, and his Ph.D. degree from West Virginia University in 1974 under mycologist H. L. Barnett. After a post-doc at North Carolina State University, he moved to Virginia Tech’s Tidewater location in 1978, attaining the rank of professor in 1989. Phipps is recognized for his research and extension

accomplishments on devising and implementing safe, effective, and economical strategies for control of field crop diseases. His Peanut Leaf Spot Advisory and Peanut/Cotton Weather Network were among the first to provide peanut farmers decision tools early in the electronic age and led to maximized production profit with minimal pesticide usage and reduced risk to farm workers, the public, and the environment. Phipps and Virginia Tech colleague Elizabeth Grabau were the first to develop and field test transgenic peanuts with resistance to Sclerotinia blight. He has published 250 refereed journal articles and applied research reports and nearly that number of extension publications and articles in trade journals targeted directly to stakeholders. Phipps is widely recognized and honored for his work by his peers and clientele. He was named fellow and president of the American Peanut Research and Education Society in 2005 and received the APS Excellence in Extension Award in 1994. His service to APS includes terms as associate editor of Plant Disease, Biological and Cultural Tests, and Fungicide and Nematicide Tests and currently as senior editor of Plant Health Progress.

Herman B. Scholthof was born in Kring van Dorth, Gorssel, the Netherlands, in 1959. He completed his B.S. and M.S. degrees in plant pathology at Wageningen University and obtained his Ph.D. degree at the University of Kentucky in 1990, after which he conducted post-doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1994, he joined the faculty of the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at Texas A&M University, advancing to professor in 2005. Scholthof is

an internationally recognized plant virologist and has developed Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) as a model system to elucidate many aspects of plant-virus interactions. Scholthof elegantly demonstrated the importance of several TBSV-encoded proteins in serving as pathogenicity factors in systemic infections in plants. He has utilized this knowledge to optimize the biotechnological application of TBSV and its proteins. Scholthof has shown that certain host-dependent contributions of the TBSV-encoded suppressor of RNA silencing P19 relate to structural features that allow it to bind short-interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Recently, Scholthof isolated and characterized an active antiviral RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) from TBSV-infected plants, which was a first for any virus-host system. In addition to the discovery of novel fundamental principles in virology, he also characterizes newly emerging microbial plant disease-causing agents. Scholthof is an enthusiastic teacher and student mentor, and he has served his profession and specifically APS in a number of important capacities.

Robert Zeigler received his B.S. degree in biological sciences from the University of Illinois, his M.S. degree in botany from Oregon State University, and his Ph.D. degree in plant pathology from Cornell University. Between his graduate studies, he was a Peace Corp volunteer in Zaire, Africa. He has remained committed to international agriculture throughout his career. His research has targeted pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi, that are important in a multitude of crops in developing

countries. Beginning with the use of another culture as a breeding tool, he contributed to the development of new molecular techniques and approaches to solve resistance breeding and disease management problems in rice. In addition to pathology, he led research on cropping systems and natural resource management in Asia and Latin America. He has served as a research leader at two international agricultural research centers (Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical and the International Rice Research Institute) and as department head of plant pathology at Kansas State University. He was the first director of the Generation Challenge Program, a multi-institutional initiative to mobilize research in crop diversity and genomics to address difficult problems in developing countries. In 2005, Zeigler became the director general of the International Rice Research Institute, an appointment that not only recognizes his distinguished career in research and scientific leadership but also entrusts upon him the challenges of addressing global problems of poverty, human health, and environmental issues through a vigorous rice research agenda.

APS Awards

Excellence in Extension Award

This award recognizes excellence in extension plant pathology.

Anne E. Dorrance received her A.S. degree in biology from Herkimer County Community College, her B.S. degree in forest biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, her M.S. degree in plant pathology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and her Ph.D. degree in plant pathology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She completed a post-doc at Washington State University Research Unit in Mt. Vernon. She then joined the faculty

of the Department of Plant Pathology at The Ohio State University (OSU), Wooster, with responsibilities in soybean research and field crop extension. Dorrance has developed a national outreach program on the management of key soybean diseases, including Phytophthora root and stem rot and soybean rust. She was chair of the NCDC 202 Committee for Soybean Rust when OSU Extension Director Keith Smith called her late one Friday afternoon and requested a white paper on extension needs for Asian soybean rust, due the following Monday. This white paper led to a federally funded extension grant to the NCDC 202 Committee for development of soybean rust identification tools and a fungicide manual, Using Foliar Fungicides to Manage Soybean Rust. These projects, led by Dorrance, were accomplished by a team of soybean pathologists at land-grant institutions from across the United States and Canada. Dorrance also has been an active member of OSU’s extension agronomy team, contributing to a weekly newsletter sent to Ohio’s agronomic clientele and teaching numerous “hands-on” workshops. Among the many honors she has received for her outreach and service are the Ohio Soybean Council’s Outstanding Achievement Award and the American Soybean Association Special Meritorious Award.

Excellence in Industry Award

This award recognizes outstanding contributions to plant pathology by APS members whose primary employment involves work outside the university and federal realms either for profit or nonprofit.

Charles Mellinger, director of technical services and vice president of Glades Crop Care, Inc., was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. degree at Goshen College, followed by a Ph.D. degree and post-doctoral study at Michigan State University. Mellinger was corporate manager of plant health for Yoder Brothers, Inc., where he directed research in laboratory, greenhouse, and field programs from 1970 to 1978. He developed programs for the detection, diagnosis, and control of diseases

affecting carnations, chrysanthemums, and foliage crops. Mellinger had a reputation for producing high-quality, disease-free stock plants. In 1980, Mellinger joined Glades Crop Care, in Jupiter, Florida, where he and his wife, Madeline, president and founder, started growing their consulting business. One of the remarkable initiatives they made over the years was to move from an industry dominated by the use of hard pesticides to one based on the commercial implementation of biointensive integrated pest management. Field trials, in cooperation with the University of Florida,

USDA scientists, and Florida growers, were conducted with the objective of applying results to solving practical field problems. Among the major advancements discovered and promoted by Glades Crop Care have been the biologically based systems for the management of thrips, virus diseases vectored by whiteflies, bacterial leaf spot, and tomato Fusarium crown rot problems. Through a combination of technical skill, good management, and hard work, Mellinger has helped grow Glades Crop Care from a small crop consulting company to one of national prominence. Mellinger’s achievements benefit growers in Florida, the nation, and the world—now and in the future.

Excellence in Teaching Award

This award recognizes excellence in teaching plant pathology.

David Shew has demonstrated excellence in teaching in graduate and undergraduate plant pathology courses for more than 25 years in the Department of Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University (NCSU). David consistently receives outstanding student evaluations in his courses and his abilities as a teacher and classroom innovator have been well recognized by his peers as indicated by his many awards. These awards include election to the Academy of Outstanding Teachers in

2002, second place in the Gertrude Cox Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching and Learning Technology in 2006, and the Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor Award in 2008. The latter award represents the most prestigious award granted to faculty teaching undergraduate courses at NCSU. Shew is recognized as a pioneer in the development and application of new and novel technologies for use in a traditional classroom setting and for distance education. He is a leader at NCSU in the development of web-based instruction utilizing modern technologies and has been an invited participant in numerous workshops conducted in conjunction with the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning and the distance education unit on campus. He has received numerous invitations to speak on the use of new technologies in science classes and recently was an invited speaker at the University of North Carolina Teaching and Learning Technology Conference on the use of 3-D virtual laboratories for online education. Shew embodies the most desirable characteristic of an outstanding educator -- the ability to teach and motivate his students to learn.

APS Awards

International Service Award

This award recognizes outstanding contributions to plant pathology by an APS member for a country other than his or her own.

Richard A. Sikora, professor and head of Soil Ecosystem Phytopathology & Nematology, Institut für Pflanzenkrankheiten, INRES, Bonn, Germany, was born in Norfolk, Virginia. He received a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology from the University of Illinois. He began his international experience as a USAID/University of Illinois-supported visiting assistant professor at G.B. Pant Agricultural University in India, and then as a German Science Foundation post-doctoral fellow at the University of Bonn.

Sikora then became a faculty member in Bonn, where he has maintained an active research and teaching program in nematology, soil microbiology, and biological control with a strong focus on integrated plant health management in the tropics and subtropics. Nineteen of 57 master’s and 36 of 72 Ph.D. theses completed under his direction were done by international students from 25 different countries, with the majority of the research done in these students’ home countries or with CGIAR. In addition, he has had 22 post-doctoral fellows who have cooperated with him in international collaborative projects. Sikora has had overseas research consultancies in 26 countries, with support coming from a broad spectrum of agencies. Sikora has received numerous awards and is a fellow of the Society of Nematologists and the European Society of Nematologists and has been named Distinguished Alumni of the University of Illinois. He was founder of an Inter-University Consortium for Rotational Advance Studies, vice chair of the German Council for Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Research, and a member of the Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture. Sikora is presently chair of the CGIAR System-wide IPM initiative. He also is an active member of eight professional societies, including APS.

Ruth Allen Award

This award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding, innovative contribution to research that has changed or has the potential to change the direction of research in any field of plant pathology.

Donald L. Nuss was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He received his B.S. degree in biology from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1969 and his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of New Hampshire in 1973. He then joined the Roche Institute for Molecular Biology in Nutley, New Jersey, as a post-doctoral fellow, and he returned as a faculty member following 10 years at the New York State Department of Health in Albany. In 1995, Nuss became professor and director of the Center

for Agricultural Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. The truly transformative research by Nuss in plant pathology has been his work on the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, and associated virulence-attenuating hypoviruses. Completion of the nucleotide

sequence of a hypovirus and development of a full-length hypovirus infectious cDNA clone represented a fundamental advancement in research on mycoviruses and their influence on fungal-plant interactions. In addition to demonstrating that a mycovirus is the causal agent of hypovirulence, this reverse genetics system provided the first opportunity for engineering mycoviruses to manipulate fungal hosts, resulting in the first USDA-APHIS-permitted release of a genetically modified fungus. Groundbreaking findings included the importance of G protein signal transduction in fungal virulence and the surprising role of RNA silencing in promoting viral RNA recombination. In summary, Nuss has taken chestnut blight research from the level of an interesting and well-studied American epidemic and developed a powerful experimental system capable of providing answers to some of the most fundamental questions in plant pathology and biology.

Lee M. Hutchins Award

This is an award to the author or authors of published research on basic or applied aspects of diseases of perennial fruit plants (tree fruits, tree nuts, small fruits, and grapes, including tropical fruits, but excluding vegetables).

James E. Adaskaveg received his B.S. degree in 1982 at the University of Connecticut and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in plant pathology at the University of Arizona. In 1995, Adaskaveg joined the Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside, where he is professor of plant pathology. Adaskaveg is recognized for his contributions to our understanding of anthracnose diseases. After outbreaks of almond anthracnose in California in the early 1990s, he was fundamentally

involved in identifying the causal pathogen as Colletotrichum acutatum and defining the population structure, biology, and effective management strategies. Temperature and wetness duration for anthracnose development were used to develop a model to time fungicide applications that has been implemented by growers. Adaskaveg and colleagues developed novel methods in digital image analysis of light micrographs and used scanning electron microscopy and histological sectioning to elucidate the infection process of Colletotrichum acutatum in almond. They demonstrated that the internal light spots of fungal appressoria correspond to the penetration pore and infection peg. A unique combination of two infection strategies, subcuticular-intracellular hemibiotrophy and intercellular necrotrophy, was found within almond tissues depending on the tissue infected. Using pH-sensitive probes in fluorescence confocal microscopy, Adaskaveg and coworkers visualized and quantified the spatial distribution of localized pathogen-induced pH modulation in fungal infections of host tissue at the cellular level.

APS Awards

Noel T. Keen Award for Research Excellence in Molecular Plant Pathology

This award recognizes APS members who have made outstanding contributions and demonstrated sustained excellence and leadership in research that significantly advances the understanding of molecular aspects of host–pathogen interactions, plant pathogens or plant-associated microbes, or molecular biology of disease development or defense mechanisms.

Andrew Bent was born in Springfield, Ohio. He obtained a B.A. degree in biology, magnum cum laude, from Oberlin College in 1983 and a Ph.D. degree from MIT in 1989. Following post-doctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley, he joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1994 and, in 1999, transferred to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he is currently professor of plant pathology. Bent is an authority on the molecular mechanisms of plant disease resistance, including

pathogen recognition, signaling events leading to gene activation, and the host defenses induced. As a post-doctoral scientist, Bent helped to develop the Arabidopsis-Pseudomonas interaction as an experimental system and was a leader in the initial discovery that many R genes encode NB-LRR proteins. His lab improved upon Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis, which led to numerous impacts on plant science. By isolation of Arabidopsis mutants, his group clearly separated the phenomenon of R gene-mediated (gene-for-gene) resistance from cell death per se. His group showed strain-to-strain variation in the defense-eliciting activity of flagellin, demonstrating that pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs, also called MAMPs) can be more variable than was previously known. By using ethylene-insensitive lines of soybeans to conduct field studies of both defense and yield, he demonstrated that manipulation of ethylene responses should be targeted to specific tissues, environments, or growth stages. Additionally, Bent has been lauded as an outstanding teacher and has contributed generously to university and professional services, including numerous contributions to APS and the International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (IS-MPMI).

Syngenta Award

This award is given by Syngenta to an APS member for an outstanding contribution to teaching, research, or extension in plant pathology.

Ignazio Carbone has achieved a high level of success in both his scholarship and teaching during his relatively short career. Carbone’s primary area of scholarship seeks to determine if genes involved in the biosynthesis of fungal bioreactive compounds, such as aflatoxin, evolved prior to or along with events involved in speciation in populations. His research has focused on highly conserved gene clusters in the secondary metabolic pathways of aflatoxin. This research is not only relevant to aflatoxin

biosynthesis, but addresses broader questions at the micro- and macro-evolutionary scales for fungal genes involved in secondary metabolism. Although engaged in fundamental research, he has a stated practical goal of elucidating mechanisms that maintain clustering in nature and may identify biocontrol strains that could shift the balance in favor of nontoxicogenic strains. While his publication record during his young career is enviable, his unselfish efforts to lower the bar for accessibility to new and widely used tools for genetic analysis truly distinguishes Carbone from other productive young scientists. He developed a platform designated “SNAP Workbench” that includes a suite of commonly used genetic analyses that is being utilized in translational, as well as basic research. While the core of the suite is described in two papers in Bioinformatics, he generously makes the suite available through his website, graduate level courses, and many workshops. He is also noted for his engaging and passionate style in the classroom, as well as his contributions to the literature.

APS Awards

Presidential Ceremony

Tuesday, August 46:30–6:45 p.m.

Presentation of the Past President’s Scroll James W. Moyer, APS President

Transfer of the APS Gavel James W. Moyer, APS President

Newly Elected Officers Barbara J. Christ, APS President

Invitation to APS Annual MeetingBarbara J. Christ, APS President

Ceremony Adjourned

Presentation of the Past President’s Scroll

The APS Presidential Scroll is presented to the outgoing APS Past President in recognition of four years of service to APS during the presidential rotation.

Transfer of the APS Gavel

The official APS Gavel is held by the current APS President during their term of service. The passing of the gavel signifies the changing of presidential responsibility from the current APS President to the incoming APS President.

APS Council Awards

Raymond D. MartynPurdue University

James W. MoyerNorth Carolina State

University

Barbara J. ChristPennsylvania State

University

Newly Elected Officers

Congratulations to Carol A. Ishimaru, University of Minnesota, elected vice president (to serve as president in 2011–2012), and Anne E. Dorrance, Ohio State University, elected councilor-at-large for a three-year term. Both officers will begin their terms following this meeting.

Carol A. IshimaruUniversity of Minnesota

Anne E. Dorrance The Ohio State

University

Caribbean Division – July 2008

Frederick L. Wellman AwardJudith Brown, University of Arizona

North Central Division – July 2008

Distinguished Service AwardJames Steadman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Travel AwardsKirk Broders, The Ohio State UniversityLuisa Cruz, Kansas State UniversitySawsan Elateek, The Ohio State University Martha Giraldo, Kansas State UniversityJohn Hernandez Nopsa, University of Nebraska-LincolnLu Liu, Iowa State UniversityAnnemarie Nagle, The Ohio State UniversitySusilo Poromarto, North Dakota State UniversityCarlos Rodriguez-Brljevick, Iowa State UniversityAdam Sparks, Kansas State UniversityTania Toruno, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Student Poster AwardsFirst PlaceJessica Koczan, Michigan State UniversityAlicia Owens, Iowa State University

Second PlaceJavier Delgado, North Dakota State UniversityZhihan Xu, Iowa State University

Third PlaceYu Chen, University of Wisconsin-Madison Adam Sparks, Kansas State University

Northeastern Division – October 2008

Student Paper Competition First PlaceCaroline Grégoire, Université Laval

Runner-upMark Schall, Pennsylvania State University

APS 2008-2009 Division Awardees

The following individuals were recognized throughout the past year at APS Division meetings for their contributions to the science of plant pathology, as well as to APS and in particular to their Division.

Pacific Division – June 2008

Early Career AwardDavid H. Gent, USDA ARS Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit

Student Travel AwardsJeremiah Dung, Washington State UniversityJoseph Jertberg, University of California-DavisLeilani Kitz, Brigham Young UniversityMelody Meyer, University of California-Davis

Student Paper Competition AwardFirst Place (tie)Florent Trouillas, University of California-DavisJose Urbez-Torres, University of California-Davis

Third PlaceJeremiah Dung, Washington State University

Potomac Division – March 2009

Distinguished Service AwardRobert E. Davis, USDA ARS Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory

Student Travel AwardRachel Melnick, Pennsylvania State University

Graduate Student Research AwardRyan Anderson, Virginia Tech

Graduate Student Research Award Runner upRachel Melnick, Pennsylvania State University

Graduate Student Research Award Honorable MentionKun Huang, University of Delaware

Southern Division – February 2009

Outstanding Plant Pathologist 2009John Hartman, University of Kentucky

Graduate Student Paper CompetitionFirst PlaceBhabesh Dutta, University of Georgia

Second PlaceNicholas Sekora, Auburn University

Third PlaceNicole Ward, Louisiana State University