From owner-announce@net.bio.net Mon Nov 02 22:00:00 1998 Path: biosci!biosci!not-for-mail From: Nina Fedoroff Newsgroups: bionet.announce Subject: NAS Symposium on Plants and Population Date: 2 Nov 1998 18:10:53 -0800 Organization: Penn State University Lines: 151 Sender: daemon@net.bio.net Approved: kristoff@net.bio.net Distribution: world Message-ID: <363DF384.5D22@email.psu.edu> Reply-To: nvf1@psu.edu NNTP-Posting-Host: net.bio.net 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: 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@psu.edu or Cohen: tel. 212-327-8883, cohen@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@psu.edu to reserve a space. .