Phytophthera infestans, its name derived from the Greek words for “plant destruction”, is the causal agent of late blight on potato and tomato and source of economic loss and famine through history. Bill Fry, recently appointed Emeritus Professor in the SIPS Section of Plant Pathology and Plant Microbe Biology, reflected upon his career studying this disease during a recent PPPMB seminar.

Early days:

After finishing his PhD at Cornell in 1970, Bill was hired by the Department of Plant Pathology to “teach disease control” and “do appropriate research”.  His decision to focus on late blight, to which he would devote his research career, was influenced by the importance of P. infestans as a model system and the significance of the disease to New York agriculture.

Research:

The main themes of his retrospective focused on breakthroughs studying epidemiology and population genetics of late blight, the human impact of this disease both in New York and internationally, and translating knowledge of molecular mechanisms into effective disease control. One of the remarkable dimensions of the Fry research program is that simulation models of disease development, generated in the early 1980’s with comparatively primitive computational resources, have grown into decision support systems at the cutting edge of digital agriculture.

Leadership:

In addition to his research and teaching, Bill has served in many leadership positions including Chair of the Department of Plant Pathology for 14 years, Senior Associate Dean, Dean of Faculty, Faculty Trustee and President of the American Phytopathological Society.

It is hoped that other members of our senior faculty will consider giving career reflection seminars as they move toward retirement.

For more information:

• Watch the recording of Bill’s seminar (11/9/2016)
• Learn more about BlightPro decision support system for potato and tomato late blight management