The International Crop Science Award bestowed on Paul Gepts, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences

Paul Gepts, distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, received the International Crop Science Award from the Crop Science Society of America. The award recognizes positive changes realized for crops at the international level with an emphasis on creativity and innovation.

Gepts, a renowned plant geneticist, has led many international projects and collaborations that focus on the domestication of the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris. In fact, more than 40 percent of his published research has involved an international co-authorship.

Currently, he coordinates the African Bean Consortium, a program of seven projects in East Africa funded by the Kirkhouse Trust. Through a novel approach, the project stimulates the development of improved bean varieties by independent breeding programs led by African scientists.

“One of the main characteristics of my career is that I have always been engaged with others abroad,” said Gepts, reflecting on the award. “I think that’s because before becoming a naturalized citizen from Belgium, I lived in several countries myself.”

Gepts was the first to document that there was a double domestication of Phaseolus beans (later on, a total of seven were noted), which has had a significant impact on bean breeding and crop biodiversity conservation. In turn, these impacts have led to the global crop improvement of beans.

Additionally, an innovative component of his research is his use of social sciences to understand the human components driving the evolution of our crops. As he explains, you must consider the human and social aspects of plants in order to get the full picture of any crop.

Comfortably quadrilingual in French, Dutch, Spanish and English, Gepts has taught short courses abroad and has been invited to speak at foreign institutions. He also served as the only foreign participant in a Mexican scientific committee tasked with discussing the concept of “center of domestication” for legal purposes.

Quick to honor the work of his collaborators, he has mentored 40 graduate students and has provided both formal and informal mentorship to students abroad.

Gepts graduated in 1976 with an Ingénieur Agronome degree from the Agro-Biotech Gembloux (Université de Liège, Belgium); he later received his doctorate in plant breeding and plant genetics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1984.

The International Crop Science Award complements his elected fellowship from the Crop Science Society of America in 2005. He was also elected fellow of the American Society of Agronomy in 2003 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2000. His most recent awards prior to this were the Agropolis Louis Malassis International Prize in 2017, and the UC Davis Chancellor’s Award for International Engagement in 2018.

Congratulations to Paul Gepts for receiving the International Crop Science Award.