Outstanding Achievement Award Recipient
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, October 7, 2022
Geoffrey Graham earned a bachelor of science degree in agronomy and plant genetics (1989) and a master of science degree in plant breeding (1991) at the University of Minnesota. After receiving his doctorate in plant genetics from North Carolina State University in 1996, Dr. Graham’s first position in private industry was with Asgrow Seeds, where he honed his skills as a plant breeder. From there, Dr. Graham joined DuPont-Pioneer as a research scientist. Leadership roles Dr. Graham has served in while at DuPont-Pioneer include director of molecular breeding; research director, North America corn breeding; America’s maize product development lead; senior research director; global hybrid crops lead; vice president, research - global breeding lead; and, currently with the formation of Corteva in 2018, the vice president for global plant breeding lead. Dr. Graham’s success as a scholar can be measured in part by the 38 plant patents with his name associated (20 as first author) and his 12 scientific and technical publications in leading journals. He has also given hundreds of oral presentations to scientific, and trade organizations. Under Dr. Graham’s leadership, Corteva also funds three types of fellowships to promote agricultural research and education, including plant breeding fellowships at the University of Minnesota. He was instrumental in initiating a Corteva sponsorship of a student planned and run plant breeding symposium at the University of Minnesota, and its success helped spawn 150 events at 60 institutions on 16 countries and six continents. He has actively contributed towards establishing a paradigm change in plant breeding, both nationally and internationally, while also helping develop the next generation of plant breeders through his efforts.
Biographies are as-of time of award presentation.