July 24 - Linking Back a Century in Ohio State's History

July 24 - We started off our historical trek with a special visitor, Professor Emeritus Blair Janson.  Dr. Janson, a faculty member in the department from 1950-1976, established the Blair F. Janson and Wilmer G. Stover Scholarship with a generous endowment that will fund travel grants for undergraduate and graduate students.  With several faculty, staff and students in attendance, Department Chair Mike Boehm unveiled a new plaque that will bear the names of future awardees.

When Dr. Janson was hired, he was the only plant pathology Extension specialist in Ohio.  "If there was a plant disease in Ohio, I had the responsibility for it," he said.  He shared several stories, mostly about crop problems he encountered over the years and how he came to solve these mysteries.  "No two days were ever the same," he said, adding that solving these puzzles made the job very interesting.  Dr. Janson received his BS, MS and PhD from Ohio State.

Dr. Wilmer G. Stover was a faculty member from 1910-1952.  Dr. Stover taught nearly all the plant pathology and mycology courses in the department during this time and was highly regarded as a teacher and mentor.  After Blair Janson served in the Air Force during World War II, he returned to Ohio State for graduate study with Dr. Stover.  The photo above, taken in Fremont in 1947, includes Dr. Janson (left) and Dr. Stover.

Mike Boehm noted that Dr. Janson's link to Dr. Stover, who was hired in 1910, bridges our current generation to the early beginnings of the department - nearly a century.

We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Janson's generous contributions to the department.

The department commissioned Lauren Farr from CommTech to produce this special artwork on canvas print to commemorate our participation in the APS Centennial Meeting.   We're looking for all Buckeyes - past and present - to sign two copies of the artwork for display in both Columbus and Wooster.  Faculty, staff and students - if you are or ever have been a part of the Department of Plant Pathology at Ohio State - look for us at the alumni social on Sunday evening, or find Monica Lewandowski or Mike Boehm during the meeting.  We want your signatures!

	Congratulations to Ohio State's 2008 APS Awardees  Mike Boehm, Excellence in Teaching Award
	Pierce A. Paul, William Boright Hewitt and Maybelle Ellen Ball Hewitt Award (awarded to a scientist within five years of their PhD degree who has made an outstanding, innovative contribution directed toward the control of plant disease) The APS Awards and Honors Ceremony is Tues., July 29, 6:30 - 7:30 pm
	Thomas K. Mitchell was selected to be a presenter in a special session, "Faces of the Future in Mycology - A Look to the Future,"  Sunday, July 27.  The session was designed to acknowledge "up and comers" in plant pathology.  Mitchell's presentation: "Genomic and proteomic approaches to dissecting host - pathogen interactions."

APS Foundation:

APS Council Student Travel Award: Xiulan Xu
H. David Thurston Student Travel Award: Pattavipha Songkumarn

Kenneth Barker Student Travel Award: Nathan Kleczewski
Zahir Eyal Student Travel Award: Gautam Shirsekar

North Central Region APS Travel Grant Awards

Sawsan Elateek  -  Kirk Broders  -  Annemarie Nagle

Edward J. Ray Travel Award for Scholarship and Service, Council of Graduate Students

John Koenig  -  Maria Soledad Benitez (for American Society of Microbiology meeting)

PPGSA Patricia Ngwira Travel Grant Awards

Maria Soledad Benitez - Carola De La Torre Cuba  -  Sawsan Elateek

Nathan Kleczewski  -  John Koenig - Annemarie Nagle

Rosa Raudales - Miguel Vega Sanchez  -  Gautam Shirsekar

Hehe Wang  -  Xiulan Xu - Clara Zumpetta

Now online: Virtual Flash and Dash (short narrated Powerpoint presentations for selected posters)
View the presentations!
John Koenig et al.   -   Katherine Whitten Buxton et al.

Mizuho Nita et al.   -   Kelly Ivors   -   A. Csinos

S.M. Villani et al.   -   K.D. Cox  et al.

Grad Students:

Complete the APS Centennial crossword puzzle and enter a drawing for prizes at the Grad Student Social.  Details are on the crossword puzzle.

What happens when you put 50 plant pathologists on a bus for a 12-hour road trip?  We'll find out when students, faculty and staff from the Ohio State Department of Plant Pathology climb aboard the football team's bus to attend the APS Centennial Meeting this summer.

The trip will be chronicled with an online blog that will include photos and stories.   "We are really using this trip as a chance for students, faculty, and staff to get to know each other," says Department Chair Mike Boehm.

> APS Blog continued