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Dr. Bob V. Conger Download this photo (440 KB)

Bob V. Conger, a University of Tennessee Austin Distinguished Professor, emeritus, of the Department of Plant Sciences, received the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Plant Sciences Section of the Society for In Vitro Biology at their annual meeting in Minneapolis, June 4, 2006.

Dr. Conger began his career at the UT-Atomic Energy Commission Agricultural Research Laboratory in Oak Ridge (later known as the Comparative Animal Research Laboratory) in 1968 and was an internationally known plant radiation biologist and mutation geneticist before transferring to the UT campus in 1976 and initiating research in the newly emerging field of biotechnology. He was a leader in the area of monocot tissue culture and genetic transformation.

Through Conger's research, the orchardgrass cell culture system became exceptionally well developed. His work led the way in biotechnological advancements for the Poaceaefamily as he developed an internationally recognized monocot tissue culture and transformation laboratory. In addition, with support from NASA, some of his experiments were performed on the space shuttle Discovery in 1994 and 1998.

He is an elected Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Conger's success is also evident through his numerous publications. He was the editor and contributing author of the book Cloning Agricultural Plants Via In Vitro Techniques and was the initial editor of the journal Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences. He served in this role from 1981 through 2003.

His awards at UT include the University of Tennessee Chancellor's Research Scholar, Clyde B. Austin Distinguished Professorship, Cavender Award for Outstanding Research Publication, Gamma Sigma Delta Award of Merit for Research, and the Excellence in Research and Creative Activities Award.

Among his other achievements, Conger developed a new orchardgrass variety 'Persist' that has been exclusively released and licensed to Smith Seed Services in Halsey, Oregon.

On September 1, Conger is slated to receive the Agronomy/Soil and Crop Sciences Honored Alumnus Award for 2006 from Colorado State University Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. He received his B.S. from Colorado State University in 1963 and his Ph.D. from Washington State University in 1967. He currently resides in Oak Ridge.

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Contact Patricia McDaniels, (865) 974-7141