The annual Sterling B. Hendricks Memorial Lectureship was established by the Agricultural Research Service in 1981 to honor the memory of a great scientist by recognizing scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the chemical science of agriculture. The US Department of Agriculture, American Chemical Society- Agrochemicals Division and Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division awarded the 2018 prize to Dr. James N. Seiber, on August 21, 2018, at the 256 ACS National Meeting in Boston, MA.
Dr. Seiber is a highly respected expert in the fields of environmental toxicology, food safety, and agriculture. He is internationally recognized for the attention he has brought to crucial concerns about how scientists evaluate the risks to our food supply and our environment associated with pesticide use against the need for pesticides to support strong agricultural production systems.
His involvement in organizations- government, industry, academia, and science- has made his influence far-reaching.
Dr. Seiber’s publications are in the areas of agricultural and food chemistry, including transport and fate of pesticides, industrial by-products, natural occurring toxicants; analysis of pesticides and other contaminants in water, soil, air, and food; new disposal and decontamination methods for chemical, agricultural, and food wastes; new methods for controlling agricultural pests; human exposure analysis; food safety involving pesticides and other chemicals; biobased products and biofuels from renewable resources; international food and agricultural systems; and regulation of pesticides and contaminants.
Dr. Seiber is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Environmental Toxicology at the University of California Davis; he served as Professor and later as Department Chair and Associate Dean for Research in the school’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Dr. Seiber joined the Agricultural Research Services (ARS) in 1998 to be Director of the ARS Western Regional Research Center in Albany, CA, serving for 10 years. He also served as Acting Director of both the ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Center and the ARS Southern Regional Research Center.
In addition, Dr. Seiber has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (JAFC) for many years. During his tenure, JAFC has doubled its impact factor, increased by a factor of 5 the rate of manuscript submissions, and established a large presence in Asia.
Dr. Seiber had received many honors and awards such as Fellow of the American Chemical Society, and its Agricultural and Food Chemistry Division, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
By Mariela Carpio-Obeso
