PERSONAL

  • Born September 23, 1938, Massillon, Ohio
  • Boy Scout - Eagle award
  • Wm T Hornaday Award for Conservation
  • Hobbies: photography, wood turning, furniture making, fossil hunting, world traveling, reading, didjeridoo and harmonica playing
  • Sports: skiing, fly fishing, camping
  • Music preferences: classical, native music –worldwide including yidaki from Australia, and native voices of South Africa
  • Married to Suzan Strobel
  • Children: Scott, David, Kendra, Emily and Sarah.
  • Church membership: Active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints (LDS or the Mormons).

EDUCATION

  • PhD, Univ of Calif, 1963 (Plant Pathology)
  • BS, Colo State Univ, 1960 (Botany) with honors
  • Washington High School, Massillon, Ohio, 1956 graduate

PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT

  • Professor, Montana State Univ, 1970-present
  • Asst-Assoc Professor, Montana State Univ, 1963-70
  • Visiting Hill Professor, Dept Biochem, Univ of Minn, 1975 (fall)
  • IPA-exchange Professional with USDA, 1976-77

AWARDS AND HONORS

  • Fellow AAAS - 1970
  • NIH Career Development Award - 1969-74
  • Wiley Award (MSU) for distinguished research accomplishments - 1979
  • Sigma XI Award (MSU) for research - 1973
  • R G Gray endowed chair - 1980-91
  • Am. Soc Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Membership – 1970 (by election)
  • Medal of the Nepal Chemical Society in Recognition of his Contribution to Chemical Research in Nepal
  • Technology/Science Award (2004) Montana State University
  • Elected - American Academy of Microbiology (2004)
  • Fellow of the Explorer’s Club of the World
  • BARD Senior Fellow for the State of Israel 2008
  • Senior Plant Science Fellow of the Australian Government-2008

SOME EXAMPLES OF INVITED LECTURES

  • International Phytopath Congresses (London & Minneapolis) - 1968 & 1973
  • Gordon Conferences on toxins and fungal products 1975-2000
  • Phytochemical Society, Hull, England - 1977
  • International Congress of Cell Biology 1981 - Berlin
  • French Phytopath Soc, Invited keynote lecturer - 1984
  • Israeli Phytopath Soc, Rehovot - 1985
  • United Nations, Vienna and Bangkok - 1987, 1989
  • AID, State Department - 1988
  • Rothchild lecturer, Jerusalem - 1988
  • NATO Conference, Capri - 1988
  • Kasetart U, Bangkok, Thailand - 1989 & 1991
  • University of Vienna - 1990
  • University of Dehli - 1991
  • Indian Ag Res Instit - 1991
  • Chiang Mai U, Thailand - 1991
  • Dehli University, India - 1991
  • NATO Meeting, Munich, Germany - 1992
  • Rome University, Italy - 1992
  • Bari University, Italy - 1992
  • Nagoya University, Japan - 1993
  • International Botanical Congress - Tokyo 1992
  • University of Tel Aviv – 1995
  • AAAS-2000
  • University of Hong Kong, 2001
  • International Biotech Congress 2001 San Diego
  • British Mycological Society Symposium, Swansea, Wales, 2001
  • Bioprospecting Conference, Caracacas,Venezuela, 1998
  • Am. Soc. of Industrial Microbiology, Minneapolis Minn., 2003
  • All Islamic Conference on Science, Seiyun, Yemen, 2003
  • Yale University , 2006, 2007, 2008
  • Brigham Young University, 2006
  • Syngenta, Capetown, South Africa, 2007
  • University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur-2008
  • University of Darwin, Australia-2008
  • LaTrobe University, Victoria, Australia-2008
  • Synthetic Genomics, San Diego, 2008

Other lectures have been given at over 300 colleges, universities, institutes, foundations and companies over the course of 41 years of academic research. A few of these include Harvard Univ, Yale Univ., Univ. of California system, Univ of London, Freiburg Univ, Cold Springs Harbor, Wash Univ, Univ of Minn, Univ of West Virginia, Univ of Wyoming, Univ of Utah, BYU, Univ of Colorado, Cal Tech, Stanford, Penn State, Univ of Maryland, Penn State U., Univ. of Maryland, Univ. of Colo, Univ. of Illinois and Purdue U. The list also includes numerous invitations to lecture at meetings of various scientific societies and organizations worldwide, eg. CATIE- Costa Rica; FHIA- Honduras; INIBAP- Costa Rica; Settat, Morocco; Dehli Univ, New Dehli; The Riken- Tokyo, Japan; Nepal Academy of Science- Kathmandu, Nepal; IPRI- Jakarta, and many others.

GRANTS AND PATENTS

Over 40 US patents (granted) and many pending plus many international patents. Grants have been held from NSF, USDA, USFS, NIH, Max Kade Foundation, NASA, U.S. Forest Service, Freshwater Biol Soc, and numerous companies including Cytoclonal, Pharmagenesis, HMV, Novozymes, Dole Inc and Dow Chem Co. totaling millions of dollars.

SPECIAL PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES IN THE PAST:

  1. Director of the NSF-EPSCoR (MONTS) Program in Montana; 1980 - present (a 40% time commitment) resulting in a greatly improved competitive research program in Montana and other EPSCOR states (1980 -2001). Associate director of the NSF- EPSCOR program in Montana 2001---------.
  2. Consultant for several biotech companies including Ecopharm, Monsanto, Schering Plough, Lederle, FMC, Microbia, Diversa, Eli Lilly, and Cytoclonal, Inc.,Agraquest, Phillips Environmental Products, and others.
  3. Editorial board for Plant Physiology, Phytopathology, Plant Science, Toxin Reviews, and J. Nat. Toxins. Reviewer for many other journals including Phytochemistry, Journal of Natural Products, and others.
  4. Vice President of the EPSCoR Coalition 1986-1990.
  5. Chief Consultant for Ecopharm (1993-1997) and Phillips Environmental Products (2004-current)
  6. Panels for NSF, USDA, NIH,& NCI to decide the fate of research proposals.
  7. Proposal reviews for NSF. NIH, USDA, US State Dept. and many federal organizations abroad.
  8. Advisor to over 125 post doctoral people, graduate students, and undergraduate students.

The standard service to university committees at the department, college, university, and state levels has also been rendered.

Numerous classes have been taught at the graduate level and participation/service in the biotech class in both the lab and lecture has been rendered

PUBLICATIONS

  • Over 320 publications in a wide range of journals including Science, J. Am. Chem. Soc., J. Biol. Chem., Proc. Natl. Aca. Sci., Microbiology, J. Org. Chem., Chem. & Biol., Plant Science, J of Org.Chem. and many others.
  • Many popular articles have appeared in such journals, magazines and newspapers as Scientific American, Discover, N.Y.Times, Wall Street J., Time, and Life.