The Wichita State University Department of Chemistry is hosting the Watkins Visiting Professorship this fall with Steve Padgette, vice president for R&D Investment Strategy, Global Strategy Group at Monsanto. Padgette will present lectures at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, in Hubbard Hall, Room 211, and 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in McKinley Hall, Room 224.

Padgette is a co-inventor of the gene which confers the Roundup Ready (RR) trait, the most widely used biotechnology trait in agriculture. He has led the FDA and USDA regulatory science safety studies for RR soybean, cotton, and canola. He joined Monsanto as a researcher in 1984.

On Tuesday, Oct. 28, Padgette’s public lecture will be on “Sustainable Solutions for Farming.” On Wednesday, Oct. 29 his scientific lecture will be on “Innovations in Agriculture.” Both lectures are free and open to the public.