EDUCATION

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Ph.D., Horticulture, 1987 Ph.D.,(curriculum), Botany, 1984

University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
MS., Biology, 1981

Saint Francis College, New England University, Biddeford, ME
BA., Marine Biology, 1979

University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
BA., History, 1972

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Current:
President/CEO, Agricultural Innovations and Research, Inc.

Academic
January, 1990--July 1995
Pensacola Junior College, Milton, FL
Horticulture Program Coordinator/Permanent faculty member
Department of Natural Resources
Coordinate Horticulture program; responsibilities include all those duties involved in promoting, continuing, and expanding the PJC Horticulture program; advising and recruiting students; establish the direction, determine the crops produced at the nursery and greenhouse facilities; supervise permanent staff members of this plant production facilities; consult with senior grounds keepers on landscape design of the three campuses; design gardens, landscapes, landscape features on the three PJC campuses; serve as a member and resource person on appropriate college committees.

Industry/Community responsibilities: To work with local growers, nurserymen, and others involved in the horticultural and golf course industries. To identify sustainable, niche market opportunities for local horticultural business hopefuls, predict future markets, identify new plant species and cultivars for the established horticultural communityTo give seminars and talks to local garden clubs, Master Gardener organizations, and special interest groups.

University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL
Adjunct teaching faculty, University of West Florida
Department of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology
University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL
Senior Scientist with the Wetlands Institute

September, 1989-- University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
January, 1990 Senior Scientist, Department of Vegetable Crops
Research faculty, Plant Molecular Biology Group.
Research project, investigation of the protein and molecular level events mediating somatic embryogenesis in sugarcane, pearl millet, and napiergrass, contributing to the successful transformation of wheat embryos with the GUS gene. Additional responsibilities include propagating and maintaining rice suspension cultures kept for research purposes; generating sugarcane, millet, and napiergrass agar and suspension cultures used in current research and serving as resource person for graduate students and other laboratory group members.

April, 1987-- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
August, 1989 Research faculty, Department of Plant and Soil Science
Responsible for generating and conducting own research program. Other responsibilities included advising graduate students in program and directing their research whenever necessary, training visiting scientists working in group, collaborating with other scientific groups on the main and agricultural campuses, and supervising student workers. Projects included: Characterization of direct somatic embryogenesis in orchardgrass at the cellular and molecular levels with special emphasis on unique gene products associated with this phenomenon; regeneration of plants from orchardgrass mesophyll and suspension culture protoplasts;studies on the effect of NaCl on somatic embryogenesis in orchardgrass liquid and agar cultures, including ion uptake and concentration using atomic absorption spectrophotometry to determine whether the grass is a NaCl excluder or tolerator; Elucidation of unique polypeptides associated with NaCl-stressed solid and liquid suspension cultures, generating NaCl-resistant callus and liquid suspension cultures, and characterizing internal water relations parameters of resistant callus cultures by constructing pressure-volume (PV) curves using vapor-pressure psychrometry. In addition to this, studies were set up for field evaluations of putatively NaCl-resistant regenerants.

Other Professional Employment
January, 1983-- Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
December, 1987 Graduate Teaching/Research Assistant, Department of Horticulture
August, 1982-- Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
January, 1983 Graduate Research Associate, Department of Botany
January, 1979-- Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
August, 1982 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Botany
January, 1979-- University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
December, 1980 Instructor, Department of Science Education
January, 1974-- University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
January, 1979 Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Biology
January, 1974-- St. Francis College, New England University, Biddeford, ME
June, 1975 Undergraduate Research Assistant, Department of Marine Biology

Private Sector:

Coastal Zone Ecology

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
American Society for Horticultural Science
Sigma Xi, National Research Honor Society
Phi Delta Kappa, National Teaching Honor Society
Florida Nursery Growers Association: Administrate FNGA Nurserymen Certification examination for Northwest Florida region .
Florida Three Rivers Resource Conservation and Development Commission Invited Speaker...National Resource Conservation Service, Southeastern Region Annual meeting, 1995, Orlando, Florida Invited Speaker...National Resource Conservation Service, Southeastern Region Annual meeting, 1996, Mobile, Alabama

RECENT FUNDED PROJECTS
1997--Evaluation Of Solar Energy-Enhanced Bottom Heat On Seedling Growth And Development
December 1997--September 1998....$ 30,000.00
1996--Solar Enerty-Heated Water For Decreased Liquid Propane Gas Use And Enhanced Plant Growth In Energy-Efficient Hydroponic Production Greenhouses
March 1996--September 1997..........$ 50,000.00
1995--Production Of Shoreline And Sand Dune Stabilizing Vegetation In An Extremely Energy Efficient Greenhouse Facility
March 1995--March 1996....................$214,000.00
1994--Postharvest Curing Of Onions In An Energy Efficient Passive Solar Facility
February 1995--April 1995....................$ 30,000.00
1993--Energy Efficient Production Of Sweet Onions Using A Greenhouse Production System
January 1993--January 1994......$140,000.00

Full CV provided on request

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