Pictures are linked to hi-res scans Dr. Susan Brown in one of the Experiment Station's apple orchards.   Front view of the Jackson Dawson Memorial Medal.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 29 , 2005

Contact: Linda McCandless, (607) 254-5137, email llm3@cornell.edu

GENEVA, NY: The Jackson Dawson Memorial Medal was presented to Cornell scientist Susan Brown at an awards dinner held recently at the Elm Bank Horticulture Center in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The gold medal, which was presented by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, features the likeness of Jackson Dawson on the front, with Brown's name and the date of the award engraved on the back. She also received a certificate from the society that reads: "For Exceptional Skill In The Science Or Practice Of Hybridization."

Brown directs the apple breeding program at Cornell. Development of high quality, flavorful apples is one of her primary objectives. "Desired characteristics of new apples include distinctive appearance and/or flavor, crisp, juicy flesh, and excellent shelf and storage life," Brown said. "The development of cultivars that are resistant to the disease, apple scab, is also a goal." Brown currently conducts genetic studies in the lab and in field trials to examine inherited traits that influence the appearance of these characteristics in new varieties.

"I am very pleased that Dr. Brown has received the Jackson Dawson Memorial Award. The award is a tribute to her outstanding research accomplishments in apple breeding and genetics," said Alan Taylor, chairman of the horticultural sciences department at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY, where Brown works. "Dr. Brown's plant breeding program is well respected by the New York apple industry, and she is recognized as a leader in national and international variety improvement."

Jackson Dawson was the first plant propagator at the Arnold Arboretum, an outdoor museum that is part of the City of Boston's park system. The Arnold Arboretum's plant collections have been held in trust by Harvard University since 1872. Many plant materials were brought to the arboretum from countries like China and Japan, as well as from collections of native plants in the U.S. Dawson was responsible for germinating seeds from these explorations and reproduced plants through cuttings and grafting to make additional plants for other arboretums. He was reported to have the proverbial "green thumb," said to be "a walking encyclopedia on plants - a miraculous plant propagator," and was very skilled in horticulture, plant propagation, and hybridization. He used controlled crosses to produce several new plant hybrids.

"I am very honored to join the ranks of individuals and organizations that have received this award in memory of Jackson Dawson," said Brown.

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Related Web Links:
Susan Brown's Faculty Web Page

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