The Leakey group takes an integrative approach to understanding and improving the water use efficiency of C4 grasses. The talk will highlight recent work in physiology, genomics, genetics, agronomy that exploits new AI-enabled phenotyping techniques.
We host five endowed lectures throughout the academic year. Endowed lectures are paid for with private funds invested and held by the Regents of the University.
The Daniel I. Arnon Lecture was established with resources from the Charles F. Kettering Foundation. The endowment also supports graduate students who are designated Arnon Fellows.
The Bob B. Buchanan and Harry Tsujimoto Lectures were established with a generous gift from the K/T (Kase/Tsujimoto) Foundation of San Francisco. The endowment also supports graduate students who are designated "Kase Fellows".
The Taylor-White Lecture is a unique collaboration between Tom White, an entrepreneur, and John Taylor, a professor in the department. Together they performed research and published papers.
The Kustu Lecture is supported by donations from students, faculty and staff who worked with Sydney Kustu, a professor in the department.
There are no upcoming events, please check back for future listings.
For a schedule of all Rausser College of Natural Resources events, seminars, and lectures visit our calendar.
Past Endowed Lectures
[Buchanan Lecture] The “endless forms”: Genetics, development, and evolution of flower diversity
In this talk I will discuss the use of monkeyflowers to probe the genetic and molecular bases of floral trait variation among species, to characterize the developmental mechanisms of pattern formation, and to test the adaptive significance of floral trait variation in the evolution of pollination syndromes.
Kabir Peay: [Taylor-White Lecture] Mycorrhizal fungi and the future of forests in a changing climate
Kabir Peay’s research is filling critical gaps in our understanding of how mycorrhizal fungi respond to climate change through his use of large-scale DNA sequencing, biogeographic modeling, and manipulative experiments. Mutualisms forged by mycorrhizal fungi critically affect the resistance and resilience of forest trees faced with climate change, which impacts the carbon cycle through effects on...
J. Clark Lagarias: [Arnon Lecture] Bilins Everywhere: More than light harvesting
My lecture will focus on the origins, biochemistry and evolution of this diversity and will touch upon the surprising evidence that oxygenic photosynthesis is dependent on bilins for sustained chlorophyll synthesis in an oxic world.
Dianne K. Newman: [Kustu Lecture] Context matters: agathokakological roles for redox-active "antibiotics"
In this talk, Dr. Newman will explain what "agathokakological" means and how this word can help us understand the varied roles microbially-produced redox active metabolites play in diverse contexts, from the soil to chronic human infections. These compounds, many of which are striking pigments that change color when they are oxidized or reduced, can serve as toxins or as lifelines for the cells...