First Committee Meeting and Introductory Reception Planned for June 14.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has named 13 renowned thinkers to the executive committee of Science Breakthroughs 2030, an initiative that will identify the most compelling scientific opportunities in food and agriculture in the next decade and beyond.
Science Breakthroughs 2030 will respond to the numerous reports issued by government and non-governmental organizations on the relationship of the food and agricultural system to public health, national security, the economy and the environment. Such reports emphasize the need to dramatically and sustainably increase food production worldwide to feed a growing global population. Tapping the ingenuity and knowledge of the American research community, Science Breakthroughs 2030 will produce a blueprint for research directions to address key issues in food and agriculture.
The committee members include:
- John D. Floros, Co-Chair—Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of Research and Extension, Kansas State University
- Susan R. Wessler, Co-Chair—Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor, University of California, Riverside; Home Secretary, National Academy of Sciences
- David B. Allison—Distinguished Professor and Quetelet Endowed Professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Corrie C. Brown—Professor of Anatomic Pathology in the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia
- Lisa Goddard—Director of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University
- Mary Lou Guerinot—Ronald and Deborah Harris Professor in the Sciences in the Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College
- Janet Jansson—Chief Scientist for Biology in the Earth and Biological Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Lee-Ann Jaykus—William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences, North Carolina State University
- Helen H. Jensen—Professor of Economics in the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Iowa State University
- Rajiv Khosla—Monfort Professor of Precision Agriculture in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Colorado State University
- Robin Lougee—Research Lead for Consumer Products and Agriculture, IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, New York
- Gregory V. Lowry—Walter J. Blenko, Sr. Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
- Alison L. Van Eenennaam—Cooperative Extension Specialist, Animal Genomics and Biotechnology in the Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis
“Farmers are facing more problems at a faster pace than ever before,” said Thomas Grumbly, President of the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation, which helped conceive and fund Science Breakthroughs 2030. “This is the perfect set of leaders to produce a research agenda to address the challenges of today and tomorrow.”