September 2002 • Volume 36 • Number 9

APS Holds Dynamic Annual Meeting in Milwaukee
 

Jacque Fletcher received the official APS gavel from Past President Steve Slack during the business breakfast.

APS members convened for the 94th APS Annual Meeting at the Midwest Express Center in Milwaukee, WI, July 27–31, 2002. The meeting attracted more than 1,500 plant pathologists and experts in related fields from more than 30 countries.

“Call to Action: A Critical Shortage in U.S. Agricultural Research Funding,” the meeting theme chosen by the late APS President Noel Keen, was highlighted at the Plenary Session with various perspectives presented by an agricultural and global economist, a Wisconsin farmer, a commodity group representative, a USDA under secretary, and the APS congressional liaison. There were more than 715 scientific presentations overall, including 24 symposia, 152 contributed oral papers, 525 contributed posters, 11 discussions, 3 workshops, 3 field trips, and 1 teach-in. Thirty-two exhibiting companies and APS Press were popular with many of the attendees, as were guest tours.

Program Chair Jacque Fletcher worked with section chairs and session organizers to ensure that the sessions represented a cross-section of interest, expertise, and program balance. We acknowledge their contributions and thank them for their efforts. All sessions were well organized, had outstanding speakers, and were well attended. Scientific topics included chestnut blight and sudden oak death, microbial populations in forest ecosystems, endosymbiotic bacteria in insect vectors, biofilms, biological control and biopesticides, minimizing crop losses, human pathogens on and in food products, new statistical tools, functional genomics, programmed cell death, molecular markers and viral expression vectors, IPM labeling, and managing diseases of ornamentals and of crops in developing countries. In addition, several sessions dealt with teaching (distance education and extension), career development and opportunities in plant pathology, and public policy.

Introduced for the first time this year were “Hot Topics.” Several sessions dealt with critical issues arising after the Program Planning Meeting at last year’s annual meeting: APS’s responses to national crop security efforts, the new USDA plan for a nationally distributed plant disease diagnostic network, and a revisiting of APS priorities in microbial genome sequencing following APS’s workshop on this topic in Washington, D.C. The 3rd Melhus Graduate Student Symposium, “New Thesis Research Contributions to Plant Disease Epidemiology,” was sponsored by the APS Foundation and gave students a chance to present their results in a major public forum.

The Awards and Honors Ceremony recognized the outstanding contributions of several APS members. The Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by APS and given only twice previously, was presented to O. W. Barnett. For the first time, the awardees’ photographs and biographies were included in the annual meeting program book.

Social events at the meeting were a major opportunity to visit with old friends, meet new people, and network. The opening reception on Sunday included designated tables at which university alumni could gather. Teams from APS divisions and APS Council competed in the ever-popular deBary Bowl, with the Southern Division declared the victor. The Cultural Diversity Committee hosted a popular luncheon where young attendees learned about career opportunities in plant pathology. The Industry Extension Social was held at the renowned Milwaukee Public Museum, where an IMAX film and world-class exhibits transported attendees to intriguing sites around the globe.

A special thanks is due to the many volunteers of APS, whose contributions have been essential not only for the development of an outstanding annual meeting but also for the continued progress of APS’s many efforts this year. Active member involvement ensures that APS continues to be a strong, relevant, and vital organization!
 

Interested in International Activities? Check Out OIP’s Online Newsletter

The APS Office of International Programs (OIP) biannual newsletter is now available on APSnet. For the latest on OIP activities and opportunities visit www.apsnet.org/ members/oip/top.asp and scroll down to “Recent News and Activities” for the July 2002 link.
 

Mark Your Calendars!
 

The 2003 APS annual meeting will be held August 9–13 at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, NC. Program Chair Gary Bergstrom will be working with the Program Planning Committee to develop a strong program. The meeting’s theme, “Plant Health and Security in the Age of Genomics,” will be explored in the Plenary Session and in other events designed to highlight the relevance of these issues to all aspects of our discipline. The exhibitor prospectus will be mailed in late December. The call for abstracts will be available on APSnet in January. Registration materials will be mailed to APS members and others on our mailing list in early April..

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

• Public Policy Update 114
• Meetings 117
• Foundation Update 118
• Updates 118
• People 119
• Classifieds 120
• Journal Articles 123
• Calendar of Events 124

 
Have an event you want listed? Go to http://www.apsnet.org/meetings/calsubmit.asp and submit your meeting information. Your listing will be posted on the APSnet calendar as well as in this section of Phytopathology News.
 

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© Copyright 2002 by
The American Phytopathological Society