Stanford Blade is a Canadian agronomist and academic administrator. He is the dean of the faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences (ALES) at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

. Blade is a fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.

Early life and education

Blade was born in Alberta where he was raised on a dairy and grain farm. He attended the

for his first degree (B.Sc.) in genetics. He obtained his M.Sc. (Crop Science) from the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

for a breeding/physiology study on

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

. Blade’s doctorate was awarded by

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

for work done at the

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is a nonprofit organization that works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture, with the ultimate ...

on a Canadian International Development Agency Ph.D. Scholarship. The thesis topic was a plant breeding/farming systems approach to improving an indigenous grain legume (Vigna unguiculata L.) for use within the complex cereal-legume cropping systems of the West African

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

Career

Blade was the executive director (2006–2009) of the Alberta Agricultural Research Institute. He was previously employed as the deputy director general research for the

(IITA). Blade is a Trustee on the Board of the

and previously served as vice-chair on the board of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation. Blade’s research has included the development and release of the high-performing Cutlass field pea. Blade has participated in the release of several field

pea The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

lentil The lentil (''Lens culinaris'' or ''Lens esculenta'') is an edible legume. It is an annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. As a food crop, the largest pro ...

cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus ''Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few input ...

and fenugreek lines. Blade is an associate editor for the ''Agronomy Journal''.

Awards and honors

In 2012, Blade was named one of Alberta's 50 most influential people by Alberta Venture magazine. In 2018, Blade was elected as an International Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blade, Stanford Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Wetaskiwin Canadian agronomists Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry 21st-century Canadian biologists Academic staff of the University of Alberta Canadian university and college faculty deans