Gutowski, William

Dr. Gutowski’s research concentrates on the role of atmospheric dynamics in climate. Central focuses are the dynamics of the hydrologic cycle and regional climate. Because processes on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales are important for both of these, his research program entails a variety of modeling and data analysis approaches. His work includes regional modeling of African, Arctic and East Asian climates and has significant collaboration with scientists in these regions. Much of his work has been through the Regional Climate Modeling Laboratory (PIRCS), which he coordinated with Dr. Eugene Takle and Dr. Ray Arritt (Agronomy Department).

Lübberstedt, Thomas

I grew up on a horticultural farm in Hamburg (Germany), where I was exposed to cropping various vegetable and ornamental species. I studied Agriculture, later Horticulture, where I very early became attracted by Plant Breeding and Molecular Genetics. Since then, combining those areas became my passion.  I believe that this is one of the most exciting scientific areas to be in to date, both because of the tremendous progress in plant genomic research over the past decades, and its impact on plant breeding. But also because plant breeding will remain one of the key areas to address major societal challenges, including feeding the growing human population, delivery of affordable high quality food and other plant products, response to climate change (incl. production of cellulosic biofuels),  among others.

Horton, Robert

Robert Horton is a Distinguished Professor in the Agronomy Department at Iowa State University. His program addresses soil physical processes and soil physical properties, with a focus on coupled heat and mass transfer in soil.  His fundamental work on coupled heat and mass transfer in soil has greatly enhanced understanding of the role of soils in the following topic areas: climatology (the importance of surface energy partitioning); water quality (the impacts of soil water and chemical movement); agricultural production (the impact of the soil environment on seed and root functions); ecosystem products and services (the impact of the soil environment on microbial function and gas exchange); and environmental investigations (thermal and mass flow methods for remediation of soil pollution).  His singular contributions include a comprehensive theory of coupled heat, water and chemical transfer in soil, quantifying in situ unsaturated soil hydraulic conductivity and dynamic subsurface water evaporation, and devising and validating a method to control fertilizer nitrogen leaching.  To reach these goals his program includes laboratory and field measurements, sensor development, theory development, and numerical modeling.

 

Awards
Graduated Magna cum laude, Texas A&M University (1975)
Outstanding technical reviewer for the Soil and Water Division of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (1989)
Raymond and Mary Baker Agronomic Excellence Award (1989)
Iowa State University Foundation Award for Mid-Career Achievement in Research (1990)
Elected Chairman of Soil Physics Division of the Soil Science Society of America (1993)
Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy (1993)
Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America (1994)
Appointed Chairman of the Soil Science Faculty Committee at ISU (1995-2002)
Appointed to Agronomy Department Head’s Advisory Council (1995-2002)
Superior Paper Award of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (1997)
Soil Science Research Award of the Soil Science Society of America (2001)
Don and Betty Kirkham Soil Physics Award of the Soil Science Society of America (2002)
CampbellLecturer, Washington State University (2004)
Frontiers of Hydrologic Sciences Lecturer, American Geophysics Union (2005)
Selected as Distinguished Professor, Iowa State University (2006)
Honorary Professor at China Agricultural University (2007)
Rossmann-Manatt Faculty Development Award, ISU (2009)
Senior Visiting Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences (2010)
Pioneer Hi-Bred Professor of Agronomy, ISU (2010-2013)
Kingenta Agricultural Science Award from the American Society of Agronomy (2012)
USDA Multistate Research Excellence Award for W-4188 (2021)
Fellow, American Geophysical Union (2022)

Vanloocke, Andy

Andy’s passion for atmospheric sciences started in undergrad when a professor showed him the impact the science would make on the world. After getting his Masters and PhD at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he crossed the Mississippi to join the Agronomy faculty at Iowa State. His time is divided between teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses and researching how our use of the land might impact agro-ecosystem processes in tandem with global change.

Suza, Walter

I serve as George Washington Carver Endowed Chair. The Chair is dedicated to the memory of George Washington Carver who was Iowa State University’s first Black student and faculty member. The Endowed Chair honors Carver’s spirit of service to all humans regardless of their race, gender, class, religion, or national origin.

Research:

Plants produce several sterols which accumulate preferentially in different organs. However, there is a gap in our knowledge about the direct role of individual sterols in plant growth and development. Fluctuations in the content of sitosterol and stigmasterol during development and conditions of stress suggest that these sterols modulate plasma membrane components or signaling activities essential for plant development and stress compensation. We are probing maize and Arabidopsis systems to increase our understanding of the direct roles of sitosterol and stigmasterol in plant growth and development. A full appreciation of the biological relevance of sitosterol to stigmasterol conversion will advance our understanding of the direct role of sterols in plant growth and development.

  1. Aboobucker, S.I., Showman, L.J., Lübberstedt, T., Suza, W.P. (2021). Maize Zmcyp710a8 mutant as a tool to decipher the function of stigmasterol in plant metabolism. Frontiers in Plant Science 12:732216. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.732216
  2. Aboobucker, S.I., Suza, W.P. (2019). Why do plants convert sitosterol to stigmasterol? Frontiers in Plant Science 10:354. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00354
  3. Suza, W.P., Chappell, J. (2016) Spatial and temporal regulation of sterol biosynthesis in Nicotiana benthamiana. Physiologia Plantarum 157:120-134. DOI: 10.1111/ppl.12413

Teaching:

I teach courses on Genetics and Biotechnology and Crop Physiology for Agronomy majors. I strive to create a classroom environment that is interactive and accepting of the diverse views and beliefs of my students. Not only do I aspire to ensure that my students learn the nature of science, but I also challenge students to be appreciative of science application to address society’s challenges. My students learn to work in teams for critical evaluation of plant molecular biology, genetics, physiology, and biochemistry.

Genetics OER Textbooks

Genetics, Biotechnology, and Agriculture

Building Crop Improvement Capacity in Africa:

In addition to co-developing courses for the Iowa State University’s Distance MS in Plant Breeding Program, I served as the director of Plant Breeding e-Learning in Africa Program ​(PBEA) for 8 years. PBEA increased access to open educational resources (OER) on topics related to the genetic improvement of crops. PBEA OER were developed for use in curricula to train African students in the management of crop breeding programs for public, local, and international organizations. PBEA OER hone essential capabilities with real-world challenges of cultivar development in Africa using Applied Learning Activities. The PBEA team worked in collaboration with faculty at Makerere University in Uganda, University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana.

  • Suza, W. P., Mahama, A. A., Gibson, P., Aboobucker, S. I., Sibiya, J., Madakadze, R., Akromah, R., Edema, R., Lübberstedt, T., Retallick, M. S., & Lamkey, K. R. (2023). Educating the Next Generation of Plant Breeders in Sub-Saharan Africa. OpenISU. DOI: 10.31274/b8136f97.4e7ae532
  • Suza, P., Gibson, P., Edema, R., Akromah, R., Sibiya, J., Madakadze, R., & Lamkey, K. R. (2016) Plant breeding capacity building in Africa. Nature Climate Change 6:976. DOI: 10.1038/nclimate3139

Plant Breeding OER Textbooks

Crop Biotechnology Outreach

  • Esquivel, M. M., Aboobucker, S. I., & Suza, W. P. (2023) The impact of ‘framing’ in the adoption of GM crops. GM Crops & Food, 14:1-11. DOI: 10.1080/21645698.2023.2275723
  • McMillen, M. S., Mahama, A. A., Sibiya, J., Lübberstedt, T., & Suza, W. P. (2022). Improving drought tolerance in maize: Tools and techniques. Frontiers in Genetics 13:1001001. DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1001001
  • Carzoli, K., Aboobucker, S. I., Sandall, L. L., Lubberstedt, T., & Suza, W. P. (2018) Risks and opportunities of GM crops: Bt maize example. Global Food Security 19:84-91. DOI: 10.1016/j.gfs.2018.10.004     
  • Suza, W. P., Kena, A., Akromah, R., Mugwanya, N., & Zeller, M. (2018). Fear holds back gene-edited crops — educate the public. Nature 563:626. DOI: 10.1038/d41586-018-07547-y.

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