Biological Threats to Food and Forests

Globalization has, often inadvertently, spread pests and pathogens to novel locations, where they proliferate unchecked, and then wreak havoc on our forests and agricultural systems. Professor Manuel Lerdau, Director of Blandy Experimental Farm, the State Arboretum of Virginia, will discuss these threats, both locally and across Virginia, and suggest possible solutions.

Manuel Lerdau Director of Blandy Experimental Farm, The State Arboretum of Virginia Professor in Environmental Sciences Department at University of Virginia Thursday, April 10, 2008 6:30 - 8:00 PM Old Town Event Center 403 South Loudoun Street Winchester, VA 22601 Directions Listen to Podcast (MP3)		Event Sponsor

About the Speaker

Manuel Lerdau is professor in the University of Virginia's Environmental Sciences and Biology Departments and Director of the Blandy Experimental Farm, State Arboretum of Virginia. Prior to arriving in Charlottesville, he spent 12 years on the faculty at the State University of New York in Stony Brook. Before moving to New York he was a research fellow in Chemistry at NASA Ames in California. He did his Ph.D. in Biology at Stanford and his AB with honors in Biology at Harvard. His research and teaching interests include plant physiology & ecology and the relationships between plants and air pollution. His most recent efforts center on the dynamics of heavy metals in ecosystems, the physics of water movement in plants and soils, and the influence of plant physiology on air quality. He is also working at UVA to promote interactions between researchers and students in middle and high schools. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA, EPA, and the Mellon Foundation.