News Release
09-10-2009
Contacts:
Sharron Quisenberry, Vice President for Research and Economic Development, 515.294.6344, sharronq@iastate.edu
Stephen H. Howell, Plant Sciences Institute, 515.294.5252, shh@iastate.edu
Meg Gordon, Plant Sciences Institute Communications, 515.294.3945, mbgordon@iastate.edu
Dan Kuester, News Service, (515) 294-0704, kuester@iastate.edu
Plant Sciences Institute Director, Stephen H. Howell assumes new position with the National Science Foundation
AMES, Iowa -After nearly nine years serving as the first director of Iowa State University's Plant Sciences Institute, Stephen H. Howell will assume a new position at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Washington, D.C.
On Sept. 14, 2009, Howell will become the new Director of the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences at NSF. Howell, an internationally respected researcher in the area of plant molecular biology, will step down as the institute's director. Howell will maintain his faculty position at Iowa State while serving this one-year rotating appointment that comes with a renewal option for up to four years. He will also maintain an active research laboratory focused upon improving plant tolerance to environmental stress.
NSF is highly respected throughout the national and international scientific community, due in part, to its tradition of providing unbiased and rigorous scientific reviews by peers.
The division of molecular and cellular biology is one of the premier divisions at the National Science Foundation. "It has supported much of the modern research in the life sciences, helping to bring about the huge revolution in molecular and cell biology," says Howell.
This continues to be one of the most important programs at NSF because research sponsored through this division builds on all the advances in genomics research. "NSF sponsored research has compiled huge catalogues of genes for various organisms, and molecular and cell biology finds out what these genes do, how they interact and how they lead to the development and function of the organism," says Howell.
Howell joined Iowa State as director of the institute in 2001. Of the many accomplishments achieved during his tenure Howell established a prestigious board made up of internationally respected scientists, business and commodity group leaders, and government officials to help guide the Institute's research objectives. He oversaw the building of the Roy J. Carver Co-Laboratory and the Innovations Development Facility housed within. Howell also established the institute's Research Initiatives Program that utilizes the tools of biotechnology to address challenges in Iowa agriculture.
Howell, who grew up in Ames, earned his bachelor's degree from Grinnell College and his doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins University. He has served as a faculty member at the University of California San Diego and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Prior to joining Iowa State, Howell was the vice president for research at Cornell University's Boyce Thompson Institute.
"It is a significant honor for the University to have Howell appointed to NSF" says Sharron Quisenberry, vice president for research and economic development.
"The attitude at the NSF is very upbeat," says Howell, "because the Obama administration is a strong advocate of science and views their sponsored research as a valuable investment of tax payer dollars."
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