Susan McCouch, associate professor of plant breeding, Cornell University, delivered the Hansmann Lecture on Nov. 28, in Hamilton College's Science Auditorium. The lecture was titled "Genomes, Genomics and GMO's."
The Hansmann Lecture series, established in 1993 in honor of the Hansmann family, brings recognized leaders to Hamilton to present a lecture. Ralph Hansmann was a member of the class of 1940 and is a life trustee of Hamilton College. The focus of the lecture rotates every three years to highlight a chosen area of curriculum, and 2001 will be the third year of a cycle focusing on the sciences.
McCouch says, "Human communities have played a major role in distributing and shaping natural diversity on the planet. For approximately 10,000 years, human beings have modified the traits of plants and animals through the process of domestication and artificial selection. Indeed, most of our domesticated food and fiber species have been altered to such an extent that they are no longer capable of surviving in the wild. Instead they prosper when nurtured and cultivated by human beings."
According to McCouch, "The interaction of natural processes and human activity has given rise to novel agroecosystems and is responsible for generating and sustaining, as well as threatening and destroying, a vast array of genetic and ecological diversity. Seen as an integral part of the pattern of biodiversity on earth, we must simultaneously accept and creatively manage the impact of our own species on the planet."
She adds, "This seminar challenges us to look deeply at how new knowledge imposes itself on our consciousness. Navigation in a world of genomes, genomics and GMO's requires new understanding of the natural world and a profound new look at the ethical boundaries of human behavior."
McCouch earned a Ph.D. from Cornell University in plant breeding, genetics, and entomology, a master's from the University of Massachusetts, and graduated cum laude, with a B.A., from Smith College. She has been at Cornell since 1999 with a joint appointment in plant biology and a special appointment in international agriculture programs. From 1990-95 she was an associate geneticist in the Department of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biochemistry, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Baños, Philippines.
