Park named NAPB’s George Washington Carver scholar

Doctoral student Gen Ha Park has been named a George Washington Carver scholar by the National Association of Plant Breeders.

Park, in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences, works with Allen Van Deynze, director of the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center and associate director of the university’s Plant Breeding Center. He aims to develop high-yielding chile peppers that can tolerate less water and higher temperatures. Both are problems being made worse by climate change, and he expects his research to help farmers become more sustainable. The project uses new techniques such as multispectral drone imaging and genomic selection models to improve the productivity of peppers grown in hot, dry environments, Van Deynze said.

As an NAPB George Washington Carver scholar, Park attended the association’s 2023 annual meeting in Greenville, S.C., in May. It marked the beginning of a mentorship journey with Dr. Sandra Branham, a vegetable crop breeder from Clemson University, in South Carolina. Through this mentorship, Park hopes to gain valuable insights into using genomic technologies to enhance his research.

NAPB’s scholarship program honors George Washington Carver, a groundbreaking Black agricultural scientist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The award specifically supports undergraduate and graduate students from historically underrepresented groups, with the goal of “ensuring that the next generation of plant breeders represent the full scope of the people we serve,” the NAPB stated.

Park has cerebral palsy, but he overcomes the difficulties that condition poses with a collaborative approach toward his research teammates. Being physically active and getting out in the field is an essential part of plant breeding, so he doesn’t let his condition stop him, he said in an interview with SeedWorld.com.

GSR award recipient

Park’s research also is supported by a Graduate Student Research award. The grant of $20,000 yearly for four years for doctoral students comes to the department from the James Monroe McDonald Endowment, administered by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“We are not surprised that Gen was honored with these prestigious awards. Gen has always ‘made his own luck’  with hard work” Van Deynze said.

Park graduated with a bachelor of science degree in plant sciences and managerial economics from UC Davis in 2022. He expects his research would contribute to his father’s seed company, Oriental Seed, based in Indonesia. The region’s agriculture is being harmed by higher temperatures caused by climate change.

Related links

Read more about Park: “Why Gen Ha Park has to work 10 times harder in the field,” from SeedWorld.com.