Stack to head KSU's new Biosecurity Research Institute
Untitled
Kansas
One of Kansas State University's own faculty members--a nationally-known scientist--has accepted the post of director of K-State's new $54 million Biosecurity Research Institute. The facility is on schedule for completion this fall.
James Stack, a K-State professor of plant pathology and director of the Great Plains Diagnostic Network, also will direct the Biosecurity Research Institute, a food safety and security facility being constructed north of the Veterinary Medical Center. Stack will report to Dr. David Franz, a veterinarian and former Commander of the U.S. Army's Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, now director of K-State's National Agricultural Biosecurity Center.
"Jim Stack has been a key figure in K-State's rise to have the best food safety and security program of any university in America today," said K-State President Jon Wefald. "Jim has exceptional leadership and communication skills and will do a brilliant job leading the BRI."
Wefald said the new Biosecurity Research Institute will be one of a kind in the world today.
"This is a building that by definition is vital to America's national security interests," Wefald said. "K-State's diagnostic capability for threats to the nation's animal and plant industries enables us to quickly identify organisms that could devastate the nation's food supply and undermine international trade.
"Research conducted in our soon-to-be-completed $54 million Biosecurity Research Institute will examine pathways by which pathogens can spread and look at issues related to countermeasures and animal carcass disposal after a potentially catastrophic event."
"I am very confident that Dr. Stack will provide excellent leadership as director of the BRI as this new facility and its programs serves as a catalyst for K-State's continued recognition as our nation's foremost leader in food safety and security," said M. Duane Nellis, K-State provost.
Ron Trewyn, vice provost for research and dean of the Graduate School, said, "Jim Stack is respected nationally and internationally for his expertise in detection and diagnosis of introduced foreign pests and pathogens. We are so fortunate to have him as the first director of our new Biosecurity Research Institute. As director of the Great Plains Diagnostic Network, Jim Stack is responsible for the management of a nine-state collaborative project concerned with such detection and diagnosis."
Stack was part of a group of K-State researchers who developed the Plant Diagnosis Information System software. The system provides a national system of communication between researchers to digitally share their diagnosis.
Stack designed and authored the Plant Disease Central website to assist Extension educators and agricultural professionals in the diagnosis and management of diseases of field crops. He also led the discovery, development and commercial introduction of the biological fungicide, Bio-Save, which is used on oranges, lemons, pears, apples, and to a limited extent, cherries and potatoes.
Prior to coming to K-State, Stack served as a faculty member and Extension specialist in the department of pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Stack received his bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Massachusetts and his doctorate from Cornell University in 1984.
Date: 3/23/06
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