Professor John Colvin will present his Inaugural Professorial Lecture on Thursday 31 May 2012 on 'Insects, Plants and Viruses: Dynamic Interactions in a Changing World'. All are welcome to attend.
John Colvin is Professor of Entomology and Plant-Virus Epidemiology at the Natural Resources Institute. As well as being the Head of the Agricultural Biosecurity Research Group, he represents NRI at the UK National Horticultural Forum R&D providers' meetings and is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society. He has a broad spectrum of interests, including vector-virus-host plant interactions, plant-disease spread, host-plant resistance, mathematical modelling, and the development of novel Integrated Pest Management technologies.
John has spent much of his research career working on insects, plants and viruses, many of which contribute significantly to pre-harvest losses from pests and diseases, where the loss is estimated at 40% of the world's major crops. Continuing research in this area is important as pest problems are forecast to escalate under agricultural intensification and as a consequence may contribute to the upward pressure on global food prices.
In his early career, John was particularly struck by the ingenuity inherent in the pest management technologies created to address the agricultural problems that arose when human interests came into conflict with those of insect species and the plant viruses they transmit. Due to the enormity of the human suffering caused by some of these problems, especially in the developing world, he has been particularly interested in agricultural research that generates practical technologies, or knowledge-based solutions, that can be adopted easily by farmers and growers.
This lecture describes John's previous and on-going research, weaving together his various interests and illustrating them with practical examples of technologies developed to address particular problems, both in the UK and overseas.
Venue: Pilkington Lecture Theatre of the University of Greenwich, Medway campus, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kent ME4 4TB
Time: Thursday 31 May 2012 at 6pm (Tea and coffee served from 5:30pm, and the lecture will be followed by refreshments, during which time John will be available to discuss his work)
To book a place or for further information, please contact Heather McAvoy-Marshall at h.m.mcavoy-marshall@gre.ac.uk or +44 (0) 1634 883911 before the 17th May.