Dr. Jason Wallace was inspired by Dr. Pamela Ronald's research on genetic modification of rice to study agriculture and microbiology. Now, he works as an Associate Professor at the University of Georgia, allocating 70% of his time as a researcher in the Crop & Soil Sciences Department. He also teaches quantitative genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, and crop microbiomes. In today's episode, we talk about the importance of microbiology in Georgia's agriculture driven economy, as well as the importance of scientific literacy and accessibility in our society. For further discussion on scientific thinking, Dr. Wallace recommends checking out Hank Green's Crash Course episode on Scientific Thinking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2r7Bk1NlgU 

If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to also check out Dr. Wallace's podcast, Gaming with Science, at https://www.gamingwithscience.net/ I recommend his episode about the incredible board game Terraforming Mars, which can be found here: https://www.gamingwithscience.net/e/s1e8-terraforming-mars-martian-science/ 

For more information about Dr. Wallace's work, or the Crop & Soil Sciences department at the University of Georgia, visit https://cropsoil.uga.edu/people/faculty/jason-wallace.html