By Carrie England
and Tina
Stow
Georgia Research Alliance
Steven J. Knapp has joined the Center for Applied Genetic
Technologies at the University of Georgia as a Georgia Research
Alliance Eminent Scholar in crop genomics.
In his new role, Knapp plans to focus on the study and
improvement of plants with economic importance in the Southeast
and Georgia, as well as research that will yield economic and
commercial benefits for the state and nation.
Knapp is one of more than 50 scientists attracted to Georgia
research universities under the GRA Eminent Scholars Program. The
program is a national model for attracting world-class scientific
talent as part of a strategy to build a technology-rich economy.
It has brought more than $1 billion in new research funding to
the Georgia economy over the past 14 years. GRA eminent scholars
have started 90 new technology companies.
During his nearly 20 years at Oregon State University, where he
served as the Endowed Chair of the Crop and Soil Science
Department from 1997 to 2004, Knapp and his team conducted
landmark research that doubled the seed production of meadowfoam,
a wildflower now grown commercially for oil used in cosmetics and
other industrial products.
$5.4 million grant
Recently, Knapp worked as a co-principal investigator with
researchers at Indiana University, the University of California
at Davis and the University of Massachusetts to secure a $5.4
million National Science Foundation Plant Genome Program grant
that will benefit researchers at UGA and several other
institutions.
His new position with the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in
the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is
partially funded by joint contributions from the GRA and the
Georgia Seed Development Commission. Knapp will continue studying
seed oils as well as the genomics of the sunflower. He will
focus, too, on genetic improvements of watermelons and peanuts,
both economically important Georgia crops.
Knapp and his colleagues have also begun a project to genetically
modify wild lettuces to produce greater concentrations of natural
rubber, making it economically feasible to harvest rubber from
the stems of the plants. If successful, such discoveries will
have direct economic and commercial ramifications, both in
Georgia and nationally.
Why rubber?
“With such a high demand and such a limited supply of rubber,
developing a domestic source of natural rubber would not only be
of economic value to the United States, but would also be
important to national security,” Knapp said. “It would be one
less natural resource that our country would have to depend on
other countries to provide.”
Knapp’s recruitment is significant to both the UGA and the GRA.
“The University of Georgia, over the past few years, has
assembled a first-class team of scientists in plant and
agricultural genomics,” said Gordhan L. Patel, UGA vice president
for research and associate provost. “Dr. Knapp is a scientist of
exceptional caliber to add to the extraordinary strength the
university has in the field of agricultural biotechnology.”
Roger Boerma, a distinguished research professor in crop and soil
sciences, said Knapp adds unique qualities to UGA’s biotechnology
expertise. “What impresses us about Steven Knapp is that he
embraces the vision that cutting-edge science can result in new
business and technology in our state,” he said.
‘Engaged’
“He is very engaged with our students and other faculty and is
raising their enthusiasm to new heights,” Boerma said. “We want
folks that don’t just paddle their own boat but set the tone of
success for everyone else at the university as well. Steve is
especially gifted at doing that.”
Knapp received the Earl Price Award for Research Excellence from
Oregon State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. He has also been
named a fellow of both the Crop Science Society of America and
the American Society of Agronomy.
He holds several patents for his work on plant variety protection
and received the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in Bonn,
Germany, awarded to highly qualified scholars and scientists
around the world.
“Dr. Knapp’s research has countless long-term possibilities, both
technologically and commercially,” said Michael Cassidy,
president of the Georgia Research Alliance.
‘What we look for’
“He embodies what we look for in our Eminent Scholars: scientific
leaders conducting groundbreaking research with the potential to
help change the world,” Cassidy said. “The GRA is proud to have
played a part in recruiting such talent to Georgia.”
Knapp received his Ph.D. in agronomy and plant breeding from the
University of Nebraska. He worked for a short time as a plant
breeder with Atlantic Richfield in California.
While at Oregon State, he attracted millions of dollars of grants
and contracts for the university. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Procter and Gamble, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Advanta Seeds,
Syngenta, the Soap and Detergent Association, and Kraft-General
Foods have each supported his research on the genetics of oilseed
crops.
“The endowment that the Georgia Research Alliance supports will
allow me to venture into new areas of research,” Knapp said.
“Also, the climate supported by both the GRA and the University
of Georgia is conducive to working with business and industry to
leverage dollars and help commercialize the technology that we
develop in our labs. These things played an important factor in
my decision to come to Georgia.”
(Carrie England and Tina Stow are employed by Jackson
Spalding, representing the Georgia Research Alliance. Dan Rahn, a
news editor with University of Georgia College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences, and free-lance writer Beverly Harvey
also contributed to this article.)
