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NAS Symposium on Plants and Population

Nina Fedoroff nvf1 at email.psu.edu
Mon Nov 2 18:21:10 EST 1998


Dear Colleague,

We invite you to attend a colloquium entitled "Plants and Population: is
there time?" sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, to be held
on Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6 of 1998 at the Arnold and Mabel
Beckman Center in Irvine, California.   The Colloquium coincides with
the 200th anniversary of Malthus' famous essay "On Population."   For
registration information, please refer to our website:
	http://www2.nas.edu/nas/2a96.html.

We (co-organizers Nina Fedoroff, plant geneticist and molecular
biologist, and Joel Cohen, population biologist) are bringing together
an outstanding group of individuals ranging from biochemists and
molecular biologists to ecologists, population biologists, and
economists to discuss the steps that need to be taken now and in the
immediate future to maintain and increase world food productivity while
simultaneously decreasing the deleterious effects of human activity,
including agriculture, on ecosystems. Please feel free to contact either
of us (Fedoroff: tel. 814-863-5717, nvf1 at psu.edu or Cohen: tel.
212-327-8883, cohen at rockvax.rockefeller.edu) for further information.

The conference will have speakers and panelists engaged in active
discussion.  The meeting is small and there will be time for all
participants to engage and challenge both speakers and panelists in
efforts to evolve new approaches appropriate to the short timescale of
the problems under discussion.

Attendance at the colloquium is limited to 250 registered participants.
Registration of $175 covers the meeting, breakfast, lunch and breaks and
transportation to and from the Hyatt Regency Irvine.  Graduate students
may apply for assistance (see registration form for details.)

Please forward this program to other interested individuals.

PROGRAM

NAS Colloquium "Plants and Population: is there time?" Beckman Center of
the National Academy of Sciences, Irvine December 5-6, 1998

Session I: Demographic and economic projections of food demand and
supply. Saturday, Dec 5, 1998   9:30 - 12:30          Session Chair:
Joel Cohen, The Rockefeller University

"World food & agriculture: the outlook for the medium & longer term."
Nikos Alexandratos, UNFAO

"The growth of demand will limit output growth for food over the next
quarter century."
D. Gale Johnson, Univ. of Chicago

"Global and local implications of biotechnology and climate change for
future food supplies." Robert Evenson, Yale University

"World food trends and prospects to 2020."  Tim Dyson, London School of
Economics

Panelists: Dennis Ahlburg, University of Minnesota; Kenneth Arrow,
Stanford University; Bernard Gilland, Espergaerde, Denmark; Vaclav Smil,
University of Manitoba


Session II: Limits on agriculture: land, water, energy and biological
resources.
Saturday, Dec 5, 1998  2:00 - 5:00       Chair: Michael Clegg, UC,
Riverside

"Plant genetic resources: what can they contribute towards increased
crop productivity?"
David Hoisington, Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo,
Int.

"Ecological approaches and the development of 'truly' integrated pest
management."
Matthew Thomas, Centre for Population Biology, Imperial College

"Ecological intensification of cereal production systems: the challenge
of increasing crop yield potential and precision agriculture."   Kenneth
Cassman, University of Nebraska

"The transition to agricultural sustainability."  Vernon Ruttan,
University of Minnesota

Panelists: Gretchen Daily, Stanford University; William Murdoch,
University of California, Santa Barbara; Billie Lee Turner, Clark
University; Catherine Woteki, US Dept. of Agriculture

After Dinner Speaker: Ismail Serageldin, World Bank, "Plants and
Population: is there time?"


Session III: Plant and other biotechnologies.
Sunday, Dec 6, 1998   9:00 - 12:00       Chair: Nina Fedoroff, The
Pennsylvania State University

 "Biotechnology: enhancing human nutrition in developing and developed
worlds."
Ganesh Kishore, Monsanto

 "Use of plant roots for environmental remediation and biochemical
manufacturing."
Ilya Raskin, Rutgers University

 "The post-industrialized agricultural biotechnology era: what's rate
limiting?"
John Ryals, Paradigm Genetics, Inc.

"Transgenic plants for the tropics: some strategies to develop them and
reach the farmer."
Luis Herrera-Estrella, Centro de Investigacion y Estudios Avanzados,
Irapuato, Mexico

Panelists: Donald Roberts, Boyce Thompson Institute; Ron Sederoff, North
Carolina State University; Roger Beachey; The Scripps Research
Institute; Dennis Avery, Hudson Institute; Richard Meagher, University
of Georgia; Brian Staskawicz, University of California, Berkeley.


Session IV: Biodiversity and multiple land use demands.
Sunday, Dec 6, 1998   1:30 - 4:30        Chair: Dr. Harold Mooney,
Stanford University

"From prehispanic to future conservation alternatives: lessons from
Mexico."
Arturo Gomez-Pompa, University of California, Riverside

"Gardenification of tropical conserved wildlands: multitasking,
multicropping and multiple users." Daniel Janzen, University of
Pennsylvania

 "Plant biodiversity, land use, and the sustainability of essential
ecosystem services."
David Tilman, University of Minnesota

 "Food supply expansion and the sustainable global management of carbon
and nitrogen: interacting challenges."   Robert Socolow, Princeton
University

Panelists: Paul Ehrlich, Stanford University; Wes Jackson, The Land
Institute; Thomas Lovejoy, Smithsonian Institution; Walter Reid, World
Resources Institute.

Concluding open discussion: 4:30-5:30 p.m.

*****Poster Session*****
In response to participant inquiries, we have added a poster session to
the colloquium. A 4' x 4' display space will be available for those
interested, but the display space is limited and we encourage you to
notify us immediately if you are interested in displaying a poster. Pins
will be available for mounting posters. If you are interested in
displaying a poster, please contact sej1 at psu.edu to reserve a space.




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