Mizzou’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources is hosting the 5th Annual CAFNR Research Symposium Wednesday, Oct. 1, at Memorial Union on campus, focused on “Solving What’s News: Innovation at the Intersection of Life, Food and Data.”

This free event is organized each fall by the CAFNR Office of Research and its CAFNR Research Council. Registration is requested, and available online.

Keynote speaker Glenn Davis Stone, pictured at left, will present at 9:30 a.m. after opening remarks and a poster session beginning at 8 a.m. Stone’s presentation will be on “The academic dilemma: Underlying philosophies of agricultural research.”

“We are thrilled to host our fifth CAFNR Research Symposium and also welcome Dr. Glenn Davis Stone as our keynote speaker,” said CAFNR Associate Dean for Research Shibu Jose. “Each fall we showcase the important work students, post-docs, faculty and staff in our college perform each day to help create a healthy world, as well as inspire them with talks from renowned outside speakers.”

Stone is an anthropologist and environmental scientist who specializes in food production and agriculture, biotechnology in food and agriculture, politics of technology, indigenous knowledge, food studies and science studies. He has been named a Guggenheim Fellow, a Weatherhead Fellow at the School of Advanced Research, and president of the Anthropology & Environment Society.

Funded primarily by the National Science Foundation and the John Templeton Foundation, Stone has conducted fieldwork among farmers in the US, Nigeria, India and the Philippines. He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and two books. After 35 years on the faculties of Columbia University and Washington University, he is now Scholar in Residence at Washington & Lee University.

Following the keynote, sessions including lightning talks from undergraduate and graduate students, and panel discussions with CAFNR faculty members, will run as follows:

• Innovation in Biological Systems, 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
• Avian Flu Crisis/Food Safety/Biosecurity, 1:15-2:15 p.m.
• The Age of AI in Agriculture, 2:15-3:15 p.m.

“Celebrate with us how CAFNR’s research goes from the lab to the field – and straight to the public – to help create healthy animals, plants, people, economies and communities,” said Pei Liu, associate professor of hospitality management and chair of the CAFNR Research Council. “We are always looking to the horizon to ‘solve what’s next’ and this event will capture and showcase that commitment.”

A reception and poster session will then be held until 4:45 p.m., with closing remarks and announcement of poster winners following. The keynote and other speakers will be in Memorial Union N201; poster sessions and refreshments will be held in N214.

Visit the Mizzou calendar to see the full agenda.