GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A world-renowned botanist and environmentalist will keynote the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ 2018 E.T. York Lecture at 2 p.m., April 10. The event, to be held at the Harn Museum of Art’s Chandler Auditorium, is free and open to the public.
Peter H. Raven, the George Engelmann Professor of Botany Emeritus at Washington University-St. Louis, will discuss the theme, “Saving Plants, Saving Ourselves.” Raven, an engaging speaker with a vision for the future based on care for the living world, is president emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden. He was director, then president of the botanical garden for 40 years.
Raven has published more than 700 articles, books and monographs, and he is an author of the widely used textbook, Biology of Plants, now in its eighth edition. In 2000, he was awarded the U.S. National Medal of Science, the highest honor for an American scientist. Last fall, he received the Shenzhen Award in Plant Sciences at the International Botanical Congress.
“Of all the accolades and honors Peter Raven has received, the one I like best is being named ‘Hero for the Planet’ by Time Magazine,” said Jack Payne, senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and head of UF/IFAS. “He is a giant in the field of biodiversity. The York lecture will be an extraordinary afternoon, because Raven is a great communicator in addition to being a great scientist.”
The York Distinguished Lecturer Series was established in 1984 by an endowment from Dr. and Mrs. E. T. York, Jr. Past speakers include MacArthur Award recipient Pedro Sanchez, renowned climate science researcher Naomi Oreskes, and Michael Mann, director of the Pennsylvania State University Earth system Science Center.
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The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS works to bring science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents. Visit the UF/IFAS web site at ifas.ufl.edu and follow us on social media at @UF_IFAS.
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