November 2001 • Volume 35 • Number 11

Success in Salt Lake City for 2001 Joint APS/MSA/SON Meeting

APS, in conjunction with the Mycological Society of America and the Society of Nematologists, held a joint meeting at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 25-29, 2001. This 93rd annual meeting of APS brought together 2,000 plant pathologists, nematologists, mycologists, and experts in related fields from over 30 countries.

There were more than 1,300 presentations, including 39 symposia, 387 contributed oral papers, 656 contributed posters, four discussions, six workshops, a town meeting, a teach-in, a pre-meeting short course, and two field trips. Thirty-five exhibits and APS Press were popular for many of the attendees, as were guest tours.

Program chairs Noel Keen (APS), James Anderson (MSA), and Andy Nyczepir (SON) worked with section chairs and session organizers to ensure that the sessions represented a cross- section of interest, expertise, and program balance. We acknowledge and thank them for their efforts. The three societies and several sponsors provided funding. Joint sessions greatly contributed to the breadth of topical coverage. All sessions were well organized, had outstanding speakers, and were well attended. Topics included methods for plant pest risk analysis, plant pathology in global trade, genomics of plant pathogens, suppressors of gene silencing, biotechnology, GIS and GPS precision agriculture technologies, nematicides, resistance crashes, nematode resistance genes, antibiotic resistance, molecular mechanisms of fungal pathogenesis, and mycoviruses. In addition, several sessions dealt with teaching and public service.

The 2nd Melhus Graduate Student Symposium, "New Frontiers in Plant Disease Losses and Disease Management," was sponsored by the APS Foundation and gave students a chance to present their results in a major public forum.

Social events at the meeting were enjoyed by registrants from all the societies, which gave exceptional opportunity for meeting registrants to meet and interact with each other. The opening reception on Sunday offered a new program whereby universities could have assigned tables for their alumni to gather. Other events unique to each society enabled some traditions to be carried on. MSA's social and auction was well attended, as was SON's Awards Reception and Banquet. The Southern and Pacific divisions competed in the ever-popular deBary Bowl, with the Pacific Division declared the victor.

The Industry Extension Social on Tuesday was held at Gallivan Plaza, where attendees enjoyed a theatrical music production.

The success of this meeting is due to the attendance and support of the three societies' members and leaders. We are grateful for everyone's contributions of time, energy, and creative thought.

See pages 150-151 in the pdf version of this issue for photos and additional articles related to the meeting.

The 2002 APS annual meeting is scheduled for July 27-31 at the Midwest Express Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The program chair is Jacqueline Fletcher. The exhibitor prospectus will be mailed in late November. The call for abstracts will be on the APSnet website in mid-January. Registration materials will be mailed to APS members and others on our mailing list in early April.

Meet Your New Phytopathology News Editor-In-Chief

Stephen A. Johnston, plant pathology extension specialist with Rutgers Cooperative Extension at Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, recently accepted the APS Phytopathology News editor-in-chief position for 2002-2004, beginning with the January 2002 issue. Johnston will succeed Robert Nyvall, University of Minnesota, current Phytopathology News editor-in-chief who has served in this position for the past six years. Johnston is looking forward to this position: "I am honored to have been named to serve as editor-in-chief of Phytopathology News. I succeed a long tradition of excellent leaders, and look forward to the challenges of upholding that great tradition as Phytopathology News continues to alert the APS membership of matters of importance to plant pathology and the Society."

A native of New Jersey, Johnston grew up on a 100-acre vegetable farm. He obtained a B.S. degree in botany and an M.S. degree in plant pathology at North Carolina State University. He returned to New Jersey to obtain a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology at Rutgers University. He has been in his current position since 1977.

Johnston has served the APS in many capacities. At the Northeastern Division of APS, he has been an active member of the Extension Committee, having served as the chair in 1983. He served as secretary-treasurer in 1988, vice president in 1989, and as president of the Division in 1990. At the national level, he has served on the New Fungicide & Nematicide Data Committee from 1981-1986, having served as chair in 1985. Additionally, he served on the Extension Committee from 1998 to 2000. In addition, Johnston has held several editorial positions within APS. He was the Vegetable Crops Section Editor of Fungicide and Nematicide Tests from 1984 to 1987, and he was Editor of Fungicide and Nematicide Tests from 1988 to 1992. He was an Associate Editor of Plant Disease from 1989 to 1991, and a Senior Editor of the journal from 1995 to 1997. 

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

• Editor's Corner 146
• Public Policy Updates 147
• Important Dates 148
• Industry News 149
• APS/SON Meeting Highlights 150
• People 152
• Classifieds 153
• APS Journal Articles 155
• Calendar of Events 156