Page 3 - Impact - Winter 2021

Borlaug’s beginnings in forestry
Norman E. Borlaug, the University of Minnesota’s most famous alumnus, came to the U in 1933 as a 19-year-old farm boy. The experience was his first outside of Iowa. In nine years here, he earned a Baccalaureate degree, a Master’s degree and a Ph.D., which he used to make innumerable scientific contributions to serve humanity’s need for food.
While many may know that Borlaug’s Master’s degree and Ph.D. were in Plant Pathology — he was unparalleled in wheat breeding and disease- resistance — they may not be aware that he began his educational journey at the U of M with an undergraduate degree in Forestry.
During the economic collapse of the 1930s, Borlaug was often broke and hungry. In the summers he used his forestry knowledge and farm skills to work for the U.S. Forest Service, hitchhiking to better paying jobs in far off places like Idaho and Massachusetts.
Years later in 2005, speaking to students at NC State University, Borlaug recalled his connections to forestry. “Despite the fact I’ve spent the last 61 years in third world countries working on food, I continue
to maintain an interest in forestry and land use in its broadest context, including wildlife. Those principles that I learned as an early forester have served me well in understanding proper use of the land resource base in many countries.”
Meet climate scientist Heidi Roop
Heidi Roop, Ph.D., is a climate scientist with a passion for research and communication whose scientific endeavors have taken her around the world, where she has participated in research from Alaska and Antarctica to the mountains of Vietnam and New Zealand.
Throughout her scientific pursuits, Roop has prioritized sharing her science through teaching and
public engagement. Today, she’s doing that at UMN as an assistant professor of Climate Science in the Department of Soil, Water and Climate in CFANS and as an Extension Specialist in Climate Science.
Roop’s professional mission is to improve the reach and impact of climate science in order to engage, motivate and catalyze action around climate change. She combines climate science and science communication to connect climate change information to decision-makers and communities across the Midwest, U.S., and abroad. By producing actionable, relevant climate science, Roop helps diverse stakeholders prepare for a changing climate.
“The challenge with preparing for climate change is that there is no one-size- fits-all solution,” said Roop. “In order to build strategies and solutions that work, we have to think holistically about systems, communities, people and sectors. What works in one location or in one industry, won’t be the right solution in another – that’s the challenge and opportunity of climate change. Together we can reduce our exposure to the risks of a changing climate while also helping to shape and build the communities, economies and broader society that we want.”
DRIVING GROWTH IN
PLANT SCIENCE
What sprouted at a University of Minnesota plant breeding lab that Michael Kanter worked in as a high school student has grown into a thriving scientific career for the CFANS graduate (Ph.D. Plant Breeding and Genetics, ʼ13).
In 2016, Kanter joined the University of Hawai’i at Manoa in Honolulu as an assistant professor in the Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences. At Kantar’s
Lab there, he and his team focus on the intersection between genomics, agriculture and ecology, examining complex interactions
so that everyone can work toward creating food systems that are more productive, healthy and sustainable. Currently, the lab broadly focuses on the breeding and genetics of vegetable crops through the use of crop wild relatives.
Kantar, who recently received the “Emerging Leader in Plant Sciences” award at the 2020 Borlaug Memorial Lecture — which commemorates the contributions Norman Borlaug made to fighting world hunger — was recognized for his leadership, including extensive work with institutions around the world to advance food security and make plant breeding accessible to a larger part of the population.