{"id":315,"date":"2008-06-10T11:30:32","date_gmt":"2008-06-10T19:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/?p=315"},"modified":"2010-03-22T10:33:12","modified_gmt":"2010-03-22T18:33:12","slug":"the-edge-of-biotech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/2008\/06\/10\/the-edge-of-biotech\/","title":{"rendered":"The Edge of Biotech"},"content":{"rendered":"
Distinguished Professor Steven Strauss focuses on research and outreach.<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n \"Steven\n
Steven Strauss<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

When he encounters people who are against his type of research, forest science<\/a> professor Steven Strauss<\/a> sometimes shows a photo of himself as a young man. In the picture, taken when he was about 17, Strauss\u2019 long hair is tied into a ponytail, and he looks, he says, \u201clike a stereotypical young environmentalist.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of image he breaks out when he wants to help establish a bond, to show young activists that he can relate to them and their concerns. The picture helps Strauss explain that his research has taken him down a long, still evolving path. After all, Strauss\u2019 professional life is bound to be contentious. He uses the tools of biotechnology to, among other things, turn poplar trees into more efficient wood and energy sources.<\/p>\n

But he wants to show people more than his picture. Strauss wants to show them evidence that he has collected for more than 20 years \u2014 that biotechnology can work for society, and that the acronym \u201cGMO\u201d (genetically modified organism) doesn\u2019t mean \u201cvillain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes my work exciting,\u201d he says. \u201cYou run into ethical, ecological and business issues that impinge on whether people accept or reject biotech. But the science is fascinating, diverse, and it\u2019s changing fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

The science is also complex, which, Strauss says, creates an equally important mission to translate it for the public. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be used in the environment,\u201d Strauss says, \u201cIt\u2019s not surprising there are people who have a hard time accepting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

His accomplishments at the intersection between research, outreach and mentoring have earned Strauss the title of \u201cdistinguished professor,\u201d the highest honor a faculty member can receive at OSU.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis scholarship is broad, spanning the molecular to the ecological, and technical to policy levels,\u201d wrote Tom Adams, department head of Forest Science, and Steven Hobbs, Executive Associate Dean of Forestry<\/a>, in nominating Strauss. \u201cDr. Strauss\u2019 laboratory has trained more than 150 high school and undergraduate students, 21 postdoctoral scientists, 39 technical\/professional employees and 23 graduate students. Most of his graduate students have earned leading positions in academia or industry,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n

In some ways Strauss sees himself as another kind of plant breeder, albeit on a microscopic level.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I do is a gene-centric approach to breeding,\u201d says Strauss. \u201cPeople are constantly modifying the plants we depend on for food, fiber, and energy. Knowing something about the plants\u2019 DNA helps us answer the questions, \u2018Can we do things other breeders can\u2019t do, or can we do some of what they already do better?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

In his research, Strauss has looked at poplars from many sides. Sometimes he tries to create trees that are more resistant to drought, or more tolerant of shade or salty soils. Sometimes he looks for ways to make trees generate better feedstocks for ethanol production. But one of Strauss\u2019 major research goals has been creating trees that don\u2019t flower at all \u2014 to minimize ecological concerns of genetically modified trees. In short, he\u2019s one of the world\u2019s foremost genetic architects of the arboreal world.<\/p>\n

According to Strauss, it is crucial to pay attention to biotech.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look at the future and identify all the things that make you insecure, like climate change and sustaining energy sources for a growing population,\u201d he says, \u201cwe\u2019re on a creek, about to go over a waterfall without a paddle, and I see genetic engineering as a major tool that can help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tree Biosafety and Genomics Research Cooperative<\/a><\/p>\n

Outreach in Resource Biotechnology<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Distinguished Professor Steven Strauss focuses on research and outreach. When he encounters people who are against his type of research, forest science professor Steven Strauss sometimes shows a photo of himself as a young man. In the picture, taken when he was about 17, Strauss\u2019 long hair is tied into a ponytail, and he looks,… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":189,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[687],"tags":[1758,1729],"class_list":["post-315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-environment-and-natural-resources","tag-forestry","tag-healthy-planet"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/189"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=315"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":691,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315\/revisions\/691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/spotlight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}