Prof. Peter Pauls has been appointed for a five-year term as chair of the Department of Plant Agriculture. His role will involve enhancing the department’s academic programs and focusing on external relations and excellence in research.

Pauls has been a U of G faculty member since 1983; he served as acting associate dean (academic) of the Ontario Agricultural College from 2006 to 2009. He has developed and taught numerous courses for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students and advised more than 30 graduate students.

His research, which aims to improve crops through the development and application of molecular biology and tissue culture techniques, is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council; the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs; and other industry and government groups.

An associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Plant Science, Pauls is past-president of the Canadian Association of Plant Physiologists.