The head of a plant genetics and genomics team at an international university who is considered a world leader in cereal genetics was chosen as Montana State University’s first Montana Plant Sciences Chair.
Hikmet Budak from Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey, was selected for the position after a national search and he began work at MSU in January.
Budak will be the first endowed chair in the history of the MSU College of Agriculture and Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, or MAES. The idea for the position began more than three years ago from the Montana Grains Foundation as a charge to help Montana’s wheat farmers stay sustainable and remain competitive. It has since grown into a vision for expanding statewide support for Montana’s grain growers with the help of MSU faculty and the Montana Grains Foundation.
Dale Schuler, President of the Montana Grains Foundation spoke with Northern Ag's Lane Nordlund about the support Montana grain producers gave to make this project to create a Plant Science Chair.
Hikmet Budak also talks about his long and short term research goals that will help provide solutions to the issues that Montana grain producers are facing.
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Source: MSU News Service
