Felix Fritschi, C. Alice Donaldson Professor in Bioenergy Crop Physiology and Genetics in the Division of Plant Science and Technology, received the 2023 Mumford Award for Outstanding Faculty during CAFNR’s Celebration of Excellence ceremony held Tuesday, April 11. Fritschi is the interim director of the Missouri Soybean Center and the Missouri Plant Transformation Core Facility. He has advised 25 graduate students and 32 postdoctoral fellows. 

Fritschi’s research focuses on crop improvement for farmers, specifically tolerance to drought and heat, and water and nutrient use efficiencies. Fritschi has secured almost $14 million in research grant support for his program and published over 130 peer-reviewed papers.  

He has received numerous awards from both the University of Missouri and CAFNR, and has been elected as a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy. 

“​​Felix is exactly the type of academic that research Universities need,” said Thomas Juenger, professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin. “Felix has an incredibly strong multi-disciplinary research program, develops interesting and productive collaborations, and completes his teaching and service with a passion that inspires students and colleagues alike.”  

“Simply put, he has developed one of the world’s leading crop physiology research programs, demonstrating a remarkable level of maturity, productivity and accomplishment,” said nominator Bob Sharp, Curators’ Distinguished Professor, Plant Science and Technology. “Felix is committed to investigating pressing questions that are directly relevant to crop improvement for farmers, and is internationally recognized for his field-focused research program on the vital topics of tolerance to drought and heat as well as water and nutrient use efficiencies in a diversity of crop species.”