Robert Fraley, Ph.D.
October 12, 2015 | St. Paul Student Center Theater
Dr Fraley will share his outlook on the challenges of population growth and how we are expected to reach 9.5 billion people by 2050. This includes approximately three billion people that will enter the middle class and will want access to a balanced meal for their family. As climate patterns, planting zones, plant diseases and pest pressures fluctuate and shift, further strains are put upon our natural resources including water and its availability. These issues combine and become one of the greatest challenges for food security in the history of agriculture. To ensure a balanced plate is accessible to everyone, we need to increasingly work together and collaborate towards a common solution. Today, leaders in agriculture are exploring new innovations that can help farmers produce more food on less land, while also identifying ways to improve soil health and the environment around us.
Dr. Fraley received the 2013 World Food Prize Laureate for his pioneering and leading work in biotechnology. His participation in the 2015 Borlaug Memorial Lecture is in conjunction with the World Food Prize “Borlaug Dialogue” symposium taking place October 14 – 16 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Bio
Dr. Robert Fraley is executive vice president and chief technology officer at Monsanto. He has been with the company for more than 30 years, and currently oversees the company’s global technology division which includes plant breeding, plant biotechnology, ag biologicals, ag microbials, precision agriculture and crop protection. Dr. Fraley is recognized as the father of agricultural biotechnology, and has been involved in ag research since the early 1980s. He has authored more than 100 publications and patent applications. Dr. Fraley’s discoveries and applications of science are also routinely recognized for the tremendous impact they’ve had in supporting farmers and the agriculture demands of our planet. Dr. Fraley’s honors include: a World Food Prize Laureate (2013), the National Medal of Technology from President Clinton (1998), the National Academy of Sciences Award for the Industrial Application of Science for his work on crop improvement (2008), among other recognitions.
Check out this interview with Dr. Robert Fraley in the StarTribune!
Student Planning Committee
- Alexandrea Ollhoff
- Alex Brohammer
- Emily Conley
- Matthew Pfarr
- Jeffrey Neyhart
- Reagan Noland
