Anthony Glenn Gives 
4th Annual I.E. Melhus Student Seminar at 
2000 APS Annual Meeting

Anthony E. Glenn, a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia, delivered the 2000 I.E. Melhus presentation at this year's annual meeting of the American Phytopathological Society in New Orleans. The talk was part of the symposium, "Biology of Pathogens: Significance of Mycotoxins to Pathogens," hosted by the APS Mycotoxicology Committee.

The APS Council selected Glenn from an outstanding pool of nominees, and the APS Foundation awarded Glenn meeting expenses up to $1,000 from a fund established to honor Dr. I.E. Melhus. Glenn's presentation, "Another Factor of Significance to Mycotoxic Fungi: Detoxification of Plant Antimicrobial Compounds by Fusarium Species," was the eighth student talk presented during the four years the series has been running. Five students combined efforts last year to deliver a symposium.

Glenn earned his Masters degree at the University of Georgia in 1995 and continues his study there mentored by his major advisor Dr. Charles W. Bacon. In 1993, he graduated magna cum laude from Auburn University at Montgomery. His current research centers on how aspects of fungal physiology influence plant-fungal interactions. Specifically, he investigates the ability of Fusarium moniliforme to detoxify preformed antimicrobial compounds produced by maize and addresses the physiology and genetics of this detoxification process. His work promises to be important, not only for this economically significant crop, but also to expand the overall understanding of symptomless fungi of plants—an area in plant pathology largely overlooked in recent decades.

Indicative of Glenn's versatility, his current research marks a new direction for him. While earning his Masters degree, Glenn focused on fungal systematics and phylogenetics. His work in this area was highly regarded among his peers, who selected him to preside over a discussion section dealing with molecular biology and systematics at the 3rd International Neotyphodium/Grass Interaction Symposium held at the University of Georgia in 1997. In fact, the symposium he presided over is now named for the work he produced in his Masters thesis.

Glenn has excelled both as a student and a scientist. He was honored as the Outstanding Ph.D. Student for the year 2000 at the University of Georgia's College of Agriculture and was awarded a 3-year NIH Training Grant beginning in 1997. In 1999, he won an APS Student Travel Award. He is the first author on two refereed publications, has collaborated on five others, and has coauthored two book chapters. Finally, Glenn has shown an ability to communicate the value of his research by securing extramural funding for his research. His proposal to the Sigma Xi Foundation was one of 179 funded from a pool of 445 applications, and another proposal is pending before the National Science Foundation.

Glenn plans to continue his career by establishing his own research program in plant pathology and mycology and to teach and mentor at the university level.

The student speaker series is named for Dr. Irving E. Melhus, who was a renowned teacher, innovative researcher, and outstanding departmental administrator at Iowa State College. Indeed, he was a true pioneer among plant pathologists. When, in 1912, he earned his Ph.D. under the guidance of L. R. Jones at the University of Wisconsin, he was the first person from Wisconsin to be awarded a doctorate in plant pathology. During a 4-year stint with the USDA's Office of Vegetable Crop Diseases, between 1912 and 1916, Dr. Melhus showed that the pathogen responsible for late blight of potato, Phytophthora infestans, overwinters in the tubers. In 1918, as an assistant professor at Iowa State College, Dr. Melhus was among the early leaders of a nationwide effort to control stem rust through the eradication of the common barberry. Later, he would produce classic work on soilborne pathogens of Iowa crops that led directly to the use of several new or improved disease control methods.

In 1937, he and G. C. Kent wrote The Elements of Plant Pathology. From 1929 to 1946, Dr. Melhus served as chair of the school's Botany Department, during which time he was instrumental in leading the department to national prominence. In 1946, Dr. Melhus founded the Iowa State College-Guatemala Tropical Research Center for the study of corn improvement. This was the first overseas experiment station operated by a U.S. university, and Dr. Melhus led the program during its formative years between 1946 and 1953. A hybrid developed at the station continues to be the most widely cultivated corn in Guatemala.

Dr. Melhus was a recognized leader among his colleagues. He served as president of APS in 1926 and was elected a fellow of APS in 1965. Additionally, he was a member of the Iowa Academy of Sciences, the Botanical Society of America, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Revised Common Names for Diseases Online

Official APS designations of common names for the diseases of apple, barley, and spinach have been revised and are listed online at www.scisoc.org/resource/common/commentc.htm. Challenges should be made to the chair of the Committee for the Standardization of Common Names for Plant Diseases: Melodie Putnam, Oregon State University, 1089 Cordley Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331-2903. E-mail: putnamm@bcc.orst.edu.

New Submission Guidelines for B & C and F& N Tests

Important changes have been made to the author guidelines for the forthcoming volumes of Fungicide and Nematicide Tests and Biological and Cultural Tests. In 2001, these reports will appear only on APSnet.

Both F&N Tests and B &C Tests require e-mail submission to the appropriate section editor no later than December 8, 2000. See www.scisoc.org/online/fntests/guidelines.html or www.scisoc.org/online/b&ctests/guidelines.html for instructions.

Also in this issue: (as a .PDF file, see link below)

• Industry News 155
• Legislative News 156
• Plant Pathology Pioneer 157
• People 158
• APS Journal Articles 160
• Classifieds 161
• Calendar of Events 164