Keynote Speaker: Dr. Peter H. Raven

Among his countless awards and posts, Dr. Ravens is a recipient of the National Medal of Science, the highest award for scientific accomplishment in this country, was a member of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology during the Clinton Administration, and served as President and Chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the largest organization of professional scientists in the world.

In addition, Dr. Raven is Chair of the Division of Earth and Life Studies of the National Research Council, which includes biology, chemistry, and geology; and President of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. He is past President and Chairman of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the largest organization of professional scientists in the world. 

For three decades, Dr. Raven has headed the Missouri Botanical Garden, an institution he nurtured to a world-class center for botanical research, education, and horticulture display. Under Dr. Raven's leadership, the Missouri Botanical Garden has become a leader in botanical research in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, with strong programs in North America as well. The Garden's education program in the St. Louis region reaches more than 100,000 students each year and provides professional development for teachers. The splendid horticultural displays attract more than 750,000 visitors to the Garden annually, including tourists to St. Louis from around the United States and the world. He is also the Engelmann Professor of Botany at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Described by TIME magazine as a "Hero for the Planet," Dr. Raven champions research around the world to preserve endangered plants and is a leading advocate for conservation and a sustainable environment. In recognition of his work in science and conservation, Dr. Raven is the recipient of numerous other prizes and awards, including the prestigious International Prize for Biology from the government of Japan; Environmental Prize of the Institute de la Vie; Volvo Environment Prize; the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement; the Sasakawa Environment Prize; and the International Cosmos Prize. He has held Guggenheim and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowships. He was a member of the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology during the Clinton Administration. In 2001, he received from the President of the United States the National Medal of Science, the highest award for scientific accomplishment in this country. Dr. Raven served for 12 years as Home Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, is a member of the academies of science in Argentina, Brazil, China, Denmark, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Sweden, the U.K. and several other countries and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He was first Chair of the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation, a government-established organization that funds joint research with the independent countries of the former Soviet Union, and served as President of the XVI International Botanical Congress in St. Louis in 1999. 

Dr. Raven is Co-editor of the Flora of China, a joint Chinese-American international project that is leading to a contemporary account on all the plants of China. He has written numerous books and publications, both popular and scientific, including Biology of Plants (co-authored with Ray Evert and Susan Eichhorn, W. H. Freeman and Company/Worth Publishers, New York), the internationally best-selling textbook in botany, now in its sixth edition, and Environment (co authored with Linda Berg, Saunders College Publishing, Pennsylvania), a leading textbook on the environment. 

Dr. Raven received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1960 after completing his undergraduate work at the University of California, Berkeley. He has received honorary degrees from universities in this country and throughout the world.

  

Milton Gordon Lecturer: Alan Baker

Alan gained a 1st Class BSc (Hons) in Botany (1970) and PhD in Plant Ecology (1974) from Imperial College, London. He worked with the University of Sheffield before joining the University of Melbourne, Australia where he was Professor of Botany (Ecology and Environmental Science) and headed the Applied Ecology Research Group in the School of Botany.  Alan’s group was involved in restoration and revegetation projects of mineral wastes, remediation of contaminated land and phytocapping of landfill sites, in addition to carrying out fundamental research on heavy metal uptake and accumulation, and on the development of new phytotechnologies. On retirement from the University of Melbourne in 2008 he was made an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the School of Botany. Alan is Director of Research for Environmental Earth Sciences International Ltd.  He is the author of 155 original scientific papers and articles, 23 chapters in books and 213 conference abstracts and holds five patents. Professor Baker is currently Editor-in-Chief (Inorganic Contaminants) of the International Journal of Phytoremediation.