Ames, Iowa
June 20, 2007
The
Iowa State University
Department of Agronomy has named two new endowed chairs in the
areas of crop genomics and biorenewable crop research.
The George F. Sprague Endowed Chair will be filled by William
Beavis, chief science officer at the National Center for Genome
Resources. Beavis will join the Iowa State faculty in August.
Sprague is credited with discovering hybrid corn, and his Iowa
Stiff Stalk Synthetic is the germplasm foundation for many
commercial corn hybrids. He was a member of the Iowa State
agronomy faculty from 1939 to 1958.
The Kenneth J. Frey Endowed Chair will be filled by Thomas
Lübberstedt, senior scientist at the Danish Institute of
Agricultural Sciences, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology.
Lübberstedt will begin as chair in September.
Frey has been credited for his work on breeding methodology,
developing disease resistance in plants and breaking the inverse
relationship between yield and protein percentage of cereal
grains. Frey served on the agronomy faculty from 1953 to 1993
and remains on the faculty as an emeritus professor.
The Sprague and Frey endowed chairs are funded by the Agronomy
Endowment. Endowed faculty positions allow Iowa State to recruit
and retain world-class leaders by providing the highest level of
faculty recognition. Endowed positions help support course
development, graduate assistants, laboratory equipment, salary
enhancements, professional development and research projects.
These opportunities ultimately enhance course and curriculum
development, which improves the educational experience for
students. |
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