May/June 2019 • Volume 46, Number 3 p. 10 p. 14 p. 15 Join the Synthetic James Birchler Will Julian Schroeder Biology Revolution Receive Prestigious Awarded Khalifa at Plant Biology Barbara McClintock International 2019 and Plant Prize in 2020 Award August 7–9, 2019 Synthetic Biology San Jose, CA 2019 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLANT BIOLOGISTS President’s Letter ASPB Announces Into the Second Century: ASPB 2024 BY ROB LAST 2019 Award Michigan State University Winners We continue the minitradition Nobel laureate Barbara Each year, ASPB honors excel- of publishing the President’s McClintock received lence in research, education, Letter as part of a collection of her doctorate from outreach, and service through essays and other resources re- Cornell, and the birth its numerous awards to indi- lated to the topic (http://bit.ly/ year of neutral theory secondcentury). Please have a look population geneticist viduals who promote the at the previous two collections on Motoo Kimura. A long mission of our Society. We are member security (http://bit.ly/ time has passed, with proud to announce this year’s SecuringFuturePlantBiologist) and unprecedented social, award recipients. future careers (http://bit.ly/ technological, and continued on page 5 NextGenerationCareers), and political changes. The send your feedback about these intent of this letter is to topics and collections to challenge each of us— [email protected] or both as individuals and @Biokid001 on Twitter. as members of an international community of 3,000+ members—to think about what makes ASPB relevant, and what will make it embers of ASPB will celebrate the continue to serve science and education in the organization’s 100th anniversary next decade and century. Min 2024. Pause for a moment to let the idea wash over you. ASPB was founded Why Is ASPB Critical to Thousands in 1924, a few months after Vladimir Lenin’s of Plant Biologists? death and early in the Jazz Age, when the ASPB provides members with goods and telegraph was the dominant method for rapid services that have great value to the commu- communication. It was five years before the Great Depression, three years before future continued on page 3 Contents Council members highlighted in blue ASPB Council also serve on the Board of Directors. President Rob Last Immediate Past President; Chair Harry Klee President-elect Judy Callis Secretary Andrew Bent Treasurer; Chair, Board of Trustees Rick Vierstra 1 President’s Letter Elected Members Christine Foyer Maureen McCann 1 ASPB Announces 2019 Award Winners Chair, Membership Committee Jill Deikman Chair, Minority Affairs Committee Gustavo MacIntosh 4 Six ASPB Members Elected to 2019 National Academy Chair, Publications Committee Neil E. Olszewski of Sciences Class Chair, Women in Plant Biology Committee Laura Wayne Chair, Education Committee Sarah Wyatt 10 Join the Synthetic Biology Revolution at Plant Biology Chair, International Committee Anja Geitman 2019 and Plant Synthetic Biology 2019 Chair, Science Policy Committee Nathan Springer Sectional Representatives Mid-Atlantic Section Hua Lu 12 Rebuild, Recruit, Reenergize: An Update on Ambassador Midwestern Section Gustavo MacIntosh Activities from 2018 Northeastern Section Carolyn Lee-Parsons Southern Section Ashlee McCaskill 13 PSRN Updates: Inclusivity in the Plant Sciences and Plant Western Section Kulvinder Gill Summit 2019 Environmental and Ecological Plant Physiology Section Andy VanLoocke Primarily Undergraduate People Institutions Section Leeann Thornton 14 James Birchler Will Receive Prestigious Barbara ASPB Staff McClintock Prize in 2020 Chief executive officer Crispin Taylor, [email protected] Director of finance and administration Clara Woodall, [email protected] 15 Julian Schroeder Awarded Khalifa International Award Executive and governance affairs administrator Sylvia Lee, [email protected] for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation Accounting manager Teressa Leath, [email protected] Senior staff accountant Jotee Pundu, [email protected] Senior staff accountant Francky Rakotomanana, [email protected] 16 Nikki Forrester, 2019 ASPB/AAAS Mass Media Fellow, Director of meetings and events Jean Rosenberg, [email protected] Spending Summer at St. Louis Post-Dispatch Conference coordinator Teresa Myers, [email protected] Manager, member services Shoshana Kronfeld, [email protected] 16 Becky Mackelprang Awarded 2019 AAAS Ralph W. F. Meetings, marketing, and membership assistant vacant Hardy Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellowship Web systems manager Mark James, [email protected] Legislative and public affairs director Tyrone Spady, [email protected] 17 Meet the 2019 Ambassador of the Year, Arif Ashraf Executive coordinator, Plant Science Research Network Natalie Henkhaus, [email protected] Education coordinator Winnie Nham, [email protected] Science Policy Director of publications Nancy A. Winchester, [email protected] Publications assistant Diane McCauley, [email protected] 19 Policy Update Subscriptions manager Suzanne Cholwek, [email protected] Subscriptions assistant Linda Palmer, [email protected] 22 2019 Spring Science Policy Committee Congressional Managing editor Jennifer Regala, [email protected] Visit Day Science writer, Plant Physiology Peter Minorsky, [email protected] Production manager, Plant Physiology Jon Munn, [email protected] Manuscript manager, Plant Physiology Ashton Wolf, [email protected] New Staff Senior features editor, The Plant Cell Nan Eckardt, [email protected] Features editor, The Plant Cell Mary Williams, [email protected] Production manager, The Plant Cell Susan Entwistle, [email protected] 24 Welcome New ASPB Staff Member Teressa Leath Manuscript manager, The Plant Cell Annette Kessler, [email protected] The ASPB News is distributed to all ASPB members and is also available online. It is published Tributes six times annually in odd-numbered months. Its purposes are to keep membership informed of ASPB activities and to reinforce the value of membership. The ASPB News is edited and produced by ASPB staff from material provided by members and other interested parties. 27 William P. Jacobs Copy deadline is the 5th day of the preceding even-numbered month (for example, April 5 for May/June publication). Contact: Nancy A. Winchester, Editor, ASPB News, 15501 Monona Drive, Rockville, MD 28 Bob Rabson 20855-2768 USA; [email protected]; 301-296-0904. © 2019 American Society of Plant Biologists 2 ASPB NEWS | MAY/JUNE 2019 President’s Letter PRESIDENT’S LETTER the high standard of review and experience with commercially paid for by sponsors. It would be continued from page 1 editorial services provided, and published journals—even those challenging to coordinate with nity. Four that are broadly valued charge your grants the additional with strong name recognition. other organizations, such as in by members are as follows: nonmember publication and open Even if you disagree that our triennial collaboration with access charges. Most of the content society journals provide added the Canadian Society of Plant 1. three journals that collectively on Plantae is freely available. value, it is unarguable that the Biologists, because a commer- publish 600+ articles each Many nonmembers around the profits from our journals are cial entity would be involved. year—Plant Physiology, estab- world can get the full contents of the major source of revenues Innovating with new meetings lished in 1926; The Plant Cell, our journals because institutions that fund the infrastructure for such as Phenome and the Plant celebrating its 30th anniver- pay for subscriptions and ASPB our conferences, conference Synthetic Biology conference sary; and Plant Direct, an open makes all content freely avail- travel awards, and education and would be challenging for at access sound science journal able 12 months after publication. outreach activities. Our commu- least two reasons: community 2. an annual Plant Biology Nonmembers can attend the Plant nity would lose the ability to fund members are less likely to be Meeting that provides an Biology annual conference by Summer Undergraduate Research motivated to serve a commercial average of 1,500+ attendees paying a couple of hundred dollars Fellowships; Plant Biology enterprise, and a company would exposure to great science and extra. Finally, many of our awards Learning Objectives, Outreach need to make a profit, even on a career information and diverse are available to nonmembers. Materials, & Education (Plant fledgling conference. education and career develop- BLOOME) grants; Transforming Future-Proofing ASPB ment opportunities What Would the Plant Education in Plant Biology I hope the last few paragraphs 3. Summer Undergraduate Biology Community Look awards; and booths at educator convince you that ASPB is worth Research Fellowships awarded conferences. We would be forced Like Without ASPB? your support and, at a community each year to more than a to give up these activities or Why should ASPB and other level, is too important to fail. As dozen undergraduate students find other funding mechanisms. long-lived professional organiza- we approach the 2024 centenary, working with ASPB member However, even if funds were tions exist? As social, political, we have plans to strengthen the mentors found to maintain these activi- and economic systems evolve, is it ties, we would lose the profes- Society’s finances and mission in 4. dozens of travel awards for inevitable that scientific organiza- sional staff who collaborate with preparation for the next hundred early career professionals, tions will