Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
Page 25
Page 26
Page 27
Page 28
Page 29
Page 30
Page 31
Page 32
Page 33
Page 34
Page 35
Page 36
Page 37
Page 38
Page 39
Page 40
Page 41
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
Page 45
Page 46
Page 47
Page 48
Page 49
Page 50
Page 51
Page 52
Page 53
Page 54
Page 55
Page 56
Page 57
Page 58
Page 59
Page 60
Page 61
Page 62
Page 63
Page 64
Page 65
Page 66
Page 67
Page 68
Page 69
Page 70
Page 71
Page 72
Page 73
Page 74
Page 75
Page 76
Page 77
Page 78
Page 79
Page 80
Page 81
Page 82
Page 83
Page 84
50 SEEDWORLD.COM SEPTEMBER 2015 Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology. Through Slutskys continued work ASTA and the seed industry will have a seat at the table. If we create an unnecessary regula- tory burden to use these products it will stifle innovation she says. I hope to take from my previous experience when I was in government and use it on behalf of industry and the International Seed Federation moving forward. Whatever we do in the United States cannot be done in a vacuum. At the very beginning we have to start reaching out to other governments so we can start coalescing around policy endpoints so we can bring new innovations to U.S. farm- ers and work to prevent asynchronous approvals. To help facilitate a global discussion Slutsky co-chairs ISFs Plant Breeding Innovation Working Group a part of the Breeders Committee and one of the fed- erations highest priorities. For those who have worked closely with Slutsky on various committees working groups or traveled internation- ally with her shes known to be quite the diplomat carefully navigating often very difficult conversations around complex multi-faceted issues. Slutsky says early in her career she learned an important lesson from Pat Roberts a member of EPAs general counsel Treat everyone with respect even if you dont agree with their posi- tion and that changes the nature of the discussion or negotiation. Respect is a fundamental component and thats what I always try to do Slutsky says. If you approach others be it gov- ernment or other parts of the industry with respect that respect will be returned but you have to approach negotiations with an open mind. You also have to be very open with people. Slutsky is very fond of ASTA and its members. In my time at ASTA Ive learned a great deal and made many friends she says. It truly is a wonderful industry and I enjoy working for the seed industry. For the betterment of the industry Slutsky shows no signs of slowing down as she continues her work at the nexus where science policy and legal frame- works intersect. Kent Bradford Seeing a need to invigorate the California seed industry the University of California Davis launched its Seed Biotechnology Center in 1999 with Kent Bradford as its director. Bradford who earned a doctor- ate in plant physiology in 1981 from the University of California Davis is still direc- tor and now a distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Sciences. Here he has led the charge for the center con- necting the research and expertise at the university with the surrounding cluster of seed businesses and serving as a scien- tific outreach vehicle in the state country and international communities. Through workshops and courses the Seed Biotechnology Center has kept more than 2000 professionals connected to the latest scientific advances that affect the seed industry. One of the most prominent is the Plant Breeding Academy which hosts workshops in the United States Asia Europe and Africa training seed industry personnel to become plant breeders and filling a shortfall in the pro- fession. In Africa the Plant Breeding Academy is working to sequence the genomes of more than 100 traditional African food crops to improve yields and nutrition in those foods. Bradford also co-founded Seed Central with Franois Korn founder and managing director at SeedQuest. Seed Centrals mission is to facilitate com- munication and research collaboration between the seed industry and university to help bring science to market faster. Bradford has been a Fulbright Scholar and in 2002 received the Seed Science Award from the Crop Science Society of America. Additionally he was named a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2003. Robert Chandler Jr. Much like the world today the years following World War II saw scientists searching for ways to feed a rapidly growing population. Asias population was expected to exceed its ability to grow enough food especially the staple rice. The answer was the International Rice Research Institute IRRI and the man to head that group was Robert Chandler Jr. Chandler earned a doctorate in pomology at the University of Maryland in 1934 and had already made a name for himself in academia. He had taught forest soils at Cornell University and from 1947 to 1954 he was at the University of New Hampshire where he served as dean and eventually president. In 1959 Chandler took on the task of leading IRRI rounding up prominent scientists to lead a portion of the Green Revolution. During his decade at IRRI several new rice varieties were devel- oped including Henry Beachells IR8 lauded as miracle rice. IRRI increased rice production by two-thirds in Asia outpacing population growth. Chandler became the founding direc- tor of the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center in Taiwan in 1972 helping develop vegetable varieties for the tropics including a heat-tolerant tomato. His work has been recognized with Indias Gold Medal Award 1966 Since 1999 Kent Bradford has served as director of the University of California Davis Seed Biotechnology Center helping to educate thousands of seed industry representatives and train scores of plant breeders around the world.