William Beavis, professor, the G.F. Sprague Chair in Agronomy and RFBCPL member was honored as fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), “for distinguished contributions at the interfaces of the biological and mathematical disciplines, especially for the understanding and dissection of complex traits through genomic and information technologies.”
Beavis works at the intersection of biology and math and is often cited for his discovery of statistical bias in estimated genetic effects – the “Beavis Effect.” His current interest is to transform plant breeding from an agricultural art into an engineering discipline. He’s using applied mathematics to design efficient breeding systems for adapting and developing resilient crops for rapidly changing environments.