Steven Strauss is a Professor housed in the Department of Forest Science at Oregon State University, and has joint appointments in the Genetics and the Molecular and Cellular Biology Programs. He is Director of the Tree Biosafety and Genomics Research Cooperative (TBGRC) at OSU, a university-public agency-industry consortium conducting research and education on the biosafety and physiology of genetically engineered trees used in plantation forestry and horticulture. Most of his research makes use of poplars (genus Populus, which includes aspens and cottonwoods) as experimental organisms. He also directs the OSU Program for Outreach in Resource Biotechnology, aimed at promoting public understanding of biotechnology issues.
Dr. Strauss has earned degrees in biological sciences from Cornell, Yale, and the University of California at Berkeley. He has published more than 150 scientific papers and given more than 160 invited lectures on biotechnology and genetics of trees. He has served on a number of panels at the United States National Research Council, National Science Foundation, and Department of Agriculture.
Dr. Strauss' current research focuses on genetic engineering of flowering and transformation-based "functional genomics" (i.e., what do the genes in trees do).
He is actively involved in public outreach and teaching about biotechnology, and currently coordinates an interdisciplinary course to give students and the public scientifically reliable information about the use of genes and chemicals in agriculture and natural resources. He also mentors high school, undergraduate, and graduate students on the potential of biotechnology to improve productivity and environmental soundness of agriculture and forestry, as well as about its ecological risks and ethical complexities.
When not at work, Dr. Strauss is currently a high school soccer referee, works with youth religious education at the Corvallis branch of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, plays tennis, hikes, and runs for fitness and relaxation in nearby forests and parks.
See the links on this page for more information on Dr. Strauss' research, publications, teaching, and university environment.
This information was last updated January 8, 2007.