Agricultural News
Acclaimed Noble Foundation Researcher Sets Retirement Date
Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:51:26 CDT
Internationally renowned plant scientist Richard Dixon, D.Phil., will officially retire from the Noble Foundation in January 2013 after 25 years of service.
Dixon currently serves as senior vice president and director of the Plant Biology Division, which he has led since its inception in 1988. "Dr. Dixon has made significant contributions to the world of plant science and to the Noble Foundation's fundamental research program," said Bill Buckner, president and chief executive officer of the Noble Foundation. "He helped build the Noble Foundation's discovery-based research from the ground up. We would not be where we are today if not for his efforts."
Dixon came to the Noble Foundation in 1988 as the founding director of the organization's Plant Biology Division. He has been responsible for the division's research vision and implementation. Under his direction, the division has grown to more than 110 scientists and support staff, who conduct fundamental biochemical, genetic and genomic plant research. Much of the research of the division is designed to benefit the value and productivity of forage legumes, such as alfalfa.
"It has been an absolute honor and privilege to spend my career contributing to the Noble Foundation's mission to advance agriculture," Dixon said. "I am thankful for the many opportunities I have been given, which include the Board's generous support of my research."
Dixon's personal research focuses on lignin (a compound that helps provide strength to plant cell walls, basically giving the plant the ability to stand upright, but also inhibiting digestibility of forages and processing of bioenergy crops) and the use of plants to produce natural products such as anthocyanins, tannins and isoflavonoids. These compounds are often associated with health benefits for human conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and obesity, as well as improved animal health and performance.
"These last 25 years have been amazing both personally and professionally," Dixon said. "I have thoroughly enjoyed my work for this remarkable organization, and take pride in the quality of the faculty that we have developed at the Noble Foundation. I know that this organization's research will continue to excel."
Dixon was elected to the National Academy of Sciences - the highest honor awarded to a scientist in the United States - in 2007, becoming the first Noble Foundation researcher to receive the honor and only the second active Academy member in Oklahoma. In 2011, the Noble Foundation recognized Dixon's contributions to science by appointing him to the position of Distinguished Professor and Samuel Roberts Noble Research Chair.
Other honors received during his career include election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2003, conferment of the degree of Doctor of Science by the University of Oxford in 2004 (he earned his doctorate degree in botany from the University of Oxford in 1976), receipt of the Richard R. Hill Achievement Award for outstanding contributions to alfalfa research in 2008 and being named "Oklahoma Scientist of the Year", also in 2008.
While retiring from the Noble Foundation, Dixon will begin a new research venture in 2013. He will assume the position of Distinguished Research Professor at the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton, Texas. Dixon will help shape the university's growing plant science research program.
"I've spent the bulk of my career building a first class research program at the Noble Foundation, and now I have the desire to help develop another center of excellence," Dixon said. "The next chapter of my career at UNT holds a great deal of promise, and I hope that continued collaborations with my many colleagues and friends at the Noble Foundation will help benefit both organizations."
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