| Dr. Loren Wiesner officially
retired from the USDA National Center for Genetic Resources
Preservation on December 31st, 2004. He earned his B.S. (1960) and M.S.
(1963) degrees from South Dakota State University. He worked as
an assistant county agent for one year before accepting a position at
Montana State University in 1964 as head of the State Seed Testing
Laboratory and the Foundation Seed Program. He took a leave of
absence in 1968 from Montana State and obtained his Ph.D. at Oregon
State University under the direction of Dr. Don F. Grabe. After
24 years of service to the state of Montana he accepted a USDA-ARS
position as research leader of the Seed Viability and Storage Research
Unit at the National Seed Storage Laboratory in Fort Collins, CO. Dr. Wiesner’s research has included a broad range of seed species and seed technology areas. He has been actively involved in the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA) serving as President in 1982. He also received the AOSA Merit Award in 1987. He was the editor of the Journal Of Seed Technology and co-chaired the Harmonization Committee. He has served on several CSSA and ASA committees and was CSSA Division C-4 Chair In 1979. He received the CSSA Seed Science Award in 1990. He received The Society for Commercial Seed Technologists (SCST) Meritorious Service Award in 2003. Loren and his wife, Sharon, have three children and 3 grandchildren. |
