Name: Dan Tennessen
Title: New Technologies and Data Management Lead
Place of Work or School: Monsanto Company
Research Area: Crop Biotechnology Field Research
Member since: 1991

1. Why has being a member of ASPB been important to you?
It keeps me connected with high-quality science and a great network of scientists from around the world, and reminds me to focus on the basics of biology as a critical component of my decision making in the industry.

2. Was someone instrumental in getting you to join ASPB?
Thomas Sharkey.

3. What would you tell colleagues to encourage them to join?
If you are involved in life science work, you need to be a member of some collegial science community because the interaction will enrich, strengthen, and accelerate your productivity. My interest in ASPB is that it brings high-quality researchers together in an organized and efficient way (the journal, the annual meetings, and the web page). Equally important is that ASPB is broader in basic science than it used to be. This is important because the tools we use, and the collaboration required for today’s science, require broad basic science skills and backgrounds.

4. Have you enhanced your career using ASPB job postings or through networking at an ASPB function?
I have posted positions on ASPB’s web page, and I have from time to time scanned positions to find out who is hiring and what kind of skill and talent is being looked for by the best organizations hiring scientists. It helps me understand what is going on in academic and industrial research planning.

5. Have you had any success at finding candidates as a result of a job posting at the meeting or via our online Job Bank?
In our research pipeline, and in our field research, needs are very specific and so it is always a challenge to find the right candidate with a combination of work ethic, integrity, potential for leadership, basic scientific skills, and key technical skills for the task at hand. In particular, the basic science skills and key technical skills can frequently be found in candidates from the Job Bank. I would like to see a greater understanding of leadership and project management out of all graduates.

6. Do you read print journals? If so, where do you usually read them?
I read journals mostly online because of the convenience and for environmental reasons, but my preference is the printed page when I can find one. When I have a bit of time, I seek out libraries to read a paper copy.

7. What do you think is the next “big thing” in plant biology?
Biological electronics/circuits.

8. What person, living or deceased, do you most admire?
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

9. What are you reading these days?
The Last Lecture, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Please Understand Me II, The Goal, Early Warning, and Crops & Environmental Change.

10. What are your hobbies?
Writing, my vineyard, and rediscovering art and life sciences with my six- and eight-year-olds.

11. What is your most treasured possession?
Freedom of thought.

12. What do you still have left to learn?
How to lead above the fray.