GES Colloquium | YouTube: LIVE STREAM

Plant Sciences Initiative: An Opportunity to Accelerate Discovery and Innovation

Speaker:

Stephen Briggs, Launch Director, NC PSI (link)
PSI website: cals.ncsu.edu/initiatives/plant-sciences-initiative/

Abstract:

This colloquium will feature an overview of the mission and vision of the NC Plant Sciences Initiative (PSI), with a focus on the education experiences available to students involved with PSI.

The vision for the student experience in the PSI aligns closely with the goals of the AgBioFEWS NRT Traineeship Program that will be underway soon. The final benefit for the student will be to have acquired a more interdisciplinary skill set to tackle the grand challenge of our world: to feed a population of 9-10 billion people by the year 2050.

Bio:

Steve Briggs joined NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in August 2017 as the NC Plant Sciences Initiative (NC PSI) Launch Director. As Launch Director, Briggs has oversight of the 184,000 square foot PSI Building, is assembling the inaugural research project teams, and developing partnerships that will establish North Carolina as a world leader in plant sciences. Prior to joining NC State, he was the Senior Vice President of Agronomy and Corporate Marketing for South Dakota Wheat Growers (SDWG), the largest farmer owned cooperative in the United States.

Steve’s career began as an Extension Entomologist at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. From there he joined American Cyanamid Company (AmCy) in Des Moines, Iowa, where he rose to the position of Vice President and General Manager of Specialty Products, concentrating in non-crop businesses such as pest control, turf, and forestry. He has also held senior executive positions at BASF, Cheminova, and TyraTech.

Steve has served as chairman of two boards – Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE) and Consolidated Sourcing Solutions (CSS) – and as an ex-officio member of the Strategic Outlook Committee for CropLife America. He also has served on the boards of numerous agricultural organizations, and is currently a member of the Security Seed and Chemical Board in Clarksville, TN.