Visiting Professor Home Page

1) Countering Agricultural Bioterrorism
Plant-associated microorganisms and insects are critical to Iowa ’s agriculture and food security. Microorganisms and insects can either disrupt, or help to maintain, the balance of our agroecosystems as well as the security of our state and federal agricultural economies

2) Impact of Plant Diseases on Society
Plant diseases have affected the outcome of wars and have been responsible for the mass starvation and migration of human populations. Plant diseases continue to have a tremendous impact on which crops can be grown in different parts of the world. The crop loss caused by plant pathogens is the primary reason that plant pathology evolved into a science separate from botany and microbiology.

3) Modeling the Spread of Plant Diseases in Crops- A Mathematical/Ecological Approach
How do diseases spread from plant to plant, field to field, or from one continent to another? How quickly can diseases destroy a crop and what disease management strategies will provide the best results in terms of providing sustainable yields and maximum economic return? Will new bioengineered plants be the answer to reducing losses due to diseases and pests? The use of mathematical or ecological models to help scientists and farmers answer these and related questions will be demonstrated.