TOM MEADE, CSO Tom has over 21 years of experience working in the agriculture industry with a focus on the discovery of novel crop protection traits and chemistries. He began his career at Mycogen discovering insect resistance traits and broadened his scientific and leadership responsibilities to include insecticide discovery when Mycogen was acquired by Dow. Tom made direct contributions to many successful discovery efforts during his tenure at Mycogen and Dow AgroSciences that resulted in commercial traits (WideStrike® cotton, Herculex® corn, and Conkesta® soy) and an insecticide (Isoclast™ active). Through leadership positions in both crop protection chemistry and traits he has broad experience in the discovery and development process.  Tom was most recently the Global Leader for Trait Discovery at Dow AgroSciences before accepting the position of CSO for Enko.

PAT CONFALONE, Ph.D. A graduate of M.I.T., Pat obtained a Ph.D. at Harvard with Nobel laureate Prof. R.B. Woodward. After a post-doctoral stint, also with Prof. R.B. Woodward, directed toward the total synthesis of Vitamin B12, he joined the Chemical Research Department of Hoffmann-La Roche. Moving to DuPont, Pat’s career accomplishments included impacts on the development of pharmaceutical products including the fluorescent dye-labeled reagents that were used in automated DNA sequencing, Cozaar™, a major anti-hypertensive based on angiotensin II antagonism and Sustiva™, a highly successful medicine used to treat AIDS. As Vice President, Global R&D, DuPont Health, Nutrition, and Crop Protection, he led 300 scientists to build a world class pipeline of novel products, including Rynaxypyr™, with world-wide sales over a billion dollars a year. He has published >140 papers, obtained >50 U.S. Patents, and has been an associate editor of over ten peer-reviewed scientific journals. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Harvard Graduate Society Prize, the Alpha Chi Sigma Award, the Robert A. Welch Lectureship, and the Philadelphia Organic Chemistry Award. He was nominated to the Harvard Society of Fellows, is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was elected Chairman of the Board of the American Chemical Society. Currently, Pat is an independent consultant to the agrichemical, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical industries.

STEPHEN POWLES, Ph.D. Stephen Powles received his Master’s Degree in Crop Science from Michigan State University and his Ph.D. in Plant Biology from The Australian National University.  Stephen is a Professor at the University of Western Australia and serves as the Director of the Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative.  He is an internationally recognized authority on all aspects of herbicide resistance where he has worked for almost three decades, leading the world-class research team. His expertise ranges from the fundamental science on the evolution and molecular basis of herbicide resistance through to applied agronomic research and management. Prof Powles has strongly influenced Australian and international thinking on sustainable herbicide usage by reducing herbicide reliance and increasing diversity in agro-ecosystems. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Science & Engineering and has published close to 200 papers in international research journals. Among his many accomplishments, his honors include the Centenary Medal by the Australian Government for his contributions to society, and the GRDC Seed of Light award for his research and communication with Australian grain growers.

TIMOTHY PASTOOR, Ph.D., DABT, ATS Dr. Pastoor obtained his PhD in toxicology from the University of Michigan, is certified by the American Board of Toxicology (DABT) and is a Fellow of the Academy of Toxicological Sciences (ATS). Dr. Pastoor retired in 2015 from Syngenta as Principal Scientist and founded the company Pastoor Science Communications, LLC that is centered around his passion for sound science, communicated well and continues to provide regulatory and toxicological guidance in product development. He is also past president of the Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) and is a Board member of several small biotechnology start-up companies as well as the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH). Dr. Pastoor has nearly 40 years of international experience in fundamental toxicity testing, mode of action research, and human health risk assessment.   For most his career, including positions with DuPont, ICI, Zeneca, Novartis, and Syngenta, Dr. Pastoor led toxicology and risk assessment experts in the conduct of safety, health, and environmental studies to assess risk to humans and the environment. In those roles, he was involved in toxicological research projects and product development and was frequently asked to interact with media, community groups, legislators, and regulatory agencies.  He is a frequent lecturer on toxicology and risk assessment subjects. In his “retirement” Dr. Pastoor has remained actively engaged in science, toxicology, risk assessment, and science communication. He is also finding time to help the University of North Carolina develop the Professional Science Masters program in toxicology.  As founder and CEO of Pastoor Science Communications and through his role as HESI president, he is leading global groups from academia, government, and corporations in developing consensus on difficult scientific issues.