Fairbanks named head of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences

Daniel J. Fairbanks has been appointed head of the Department of Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences in the College of Natural Resources and the Environment.

Prior to assuming his post, Fairbanks was associate dean of science and health at Utah Valley University. He also served on the faculty of Brigham Young University since 1988. At BYU, he was the Karl G. Maeser Professor of General Education and also served as dean of undergraduate education and director of the honors program.

A graduate of BYU, Fairbanks has a Ph.D. in agronomy and plant genetics from the University of Arizona and a master’s in plant breeding from the University of Minnesota. He specializes in plant genetics, breeding, and biotechnology. The author and co-author of three books, including “Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA,” and 39 refereed journal articles, he has also edited or contributed to four other genetics and genome mapping books.

In addition to his teaching, research, and administrative work, Fairbanks serves as U.S. project leader of a multidisciplinary research project on the sustainable development of quinoa, a plant that has long been a staple in the Latin American diet, and rural economic development in Bolivia and Peru. His participation in a collaborative U.S. and Brazilian project to develop sugarcane for fuel-ethanol production led to a Fulbright fellowship.

“Throughout my career, I have sought opportunities to cross disciplinary and institutional boundaries and work as a member of scientific teams,” he said.

An award-winning teacher who has stressed that students learn how to interpret real experimental data, he wants to continue to “integrate teaching and research, and to instill in students a passion for science.”

Fluent in Portuguese and Spanish, Fairbanks is also an established artist, with numerous sculpture exhibits, shows and commissions.

September 22, 2008.

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