Daniel Fairbanks

Faculty Member

Dr. Daniel Fairbanks

Biography

Dr. Daniel J. Fairbanks is Professor of Biology and University Research Officer at Utah Valley University. He previously was Dean of the College of Science and Interim Dean of the College of Technology and Computing at UVU. Prior to joining UVU, he was at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst where he was Professor and Head of the Department of Plant Soil and Insect Sciences. Prior to that time he was at Brigham Young University where he was Dean of Undergraduate Education, Associate Dean of Biology and Agriculture, Director of the Honors Program, and Professor of Plant and Wildlife Sciences. He is a geneticist specializing in evolutionary genetics, the history of genetics, plant genetics and breeding, and international scientific development. He is author or co-author of six scholarly books and more than sixty scientific journal articles on genetics, human evolutionary genetics, the history of genetics, plant genetics and breeding, and science education. He is recognized as one of the foremost scholars on Gregor Mendel, the founder of genetics, and is author of a recent biography of Mendel. Dr. Fairbanks is an accomplished artist, with sculpture, paintings, and drawings in museum, public, and private collections in the United States, Latin America, and Europe. He has received numerous awards, among them the Mendel Memorial Medal in recognition of his scholarly and artistic contributions highlighting Gregor Mendel, the Trustees Award of Excellence at UVU, the Karl G. Maeser Professorship of General Education, the Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Teaching Award, and the Alcuin Award for General Education Teaching at BYU.

Education

Ph D, University of Arizona, 1988

Major: Agronomy and Plant Genetics

MS, University of Minnesota, 1985

Major: Plant Breeding

BS, Bringham Young University, 1982

Major: Double major_ Portuguese/Agronomy

Teaching

BIOL 4500

Principles of Evolution WE, Fall 2023

BIOL 4500

Principles of Evolution WE, Spring 2023

Presentations

Fairbanks, Daniel J (Presenter & Author), Thomas, Hannah L (Author Only), Adeline, Tonioli (Author Only), Mendel Day 2023, "How Gärtner’s 1849 book on plant hybrids influenced Mendel throughout his scientific career", Moravian Museum, KeyGene, Wageningen, Netherlands. (March 8, 2023)
Fairbanks, Daniel J, Invited Lecture – University of Chicago, "Gregor Mendel at his Bicentennial_ HIghlights of his Life and Legacy", Lumen Christi Institute, Morris Fishbein Center for the History of Science and Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. (November 16, 2022)
Fairbanks, Daniel J, Mendel Days 2022, "Gregor Mendel's Reception in the World", Mendel Museum of Masaryk University, Augustinian Abbey of St. Thomas, Brno, Czech Republic. (November 2, 2022)
Fairbanks, Daniel , International Conference of the Genetics Society of Korea, "Gregor Mendel at his Bicentennial_ Highlights of his Life and Legacy", Genetics Society of Korea, Jeju, Korea. (October 13, 2022)
Fairbanks, Daniel , Invited Lecture – Clemson University, "Gregor Mendel at His Bicentennial_ The Life and Legacy of a Scientific Genius", Clemson University – Center for Human Genetics – College of Science, Clemson, South Carolina. (September 2, 2022)
Fairbanks, Daniel J, International Mendel Genetics Conference 2022, "Gregor Mendel at his Bicentennial_ Highlights of the Life and Legacy of a Scientific Genius", Augustinian Abbey in Brno, Masaryk University, Mendel University, Moravian Museum, Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, Brno, Czech Republic. (July 20, 2022)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Fairbanks, Daniel J, (2022) "Gregor Mendel at his bicentennial_ highlights of the life and legacy of a scientific genius." (Issue: 1, vol. 58). Orem: Folia Mendeliana. 893 N 1530 E
Fairbanks, Daniel J, (2022) "Historical-Scientific Research on Mendel at the Bicentennial of His Birth_ Interviews with Nine Mendel Scholars" (Issue: 87). London: Genetics Society News. https://genetics.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Issue-87-Low-Res.pdf
Fairbanks, Daniel J, (2022) "Gregor Mendel_ His Life and Legacy" . Guilford, CT: Prometheus Books/Globe Pequot/Rowman and Littlefield. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781633888395/Gregor-Mendel-His-Life-and-Legacy
Fairbanks, Daniel J, (2022) "Demystifying the mythical Mendel_ a biographical review" (vol. 129). United Kingdom: Heredity. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-022-00526-0
Fairbanks, Daniel J, (2021) "Genetic and Phenotypic Odyssey_ Voyage of the Grain Amaranths from the Americas to the Old World" (vol. The Amaranth Genome). Berlin: Compendium of Plant Genomes/Springer . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-72365-1_3
Fairbanks, Daniel J, (2020) "Mendel and Darwin_ untangling a persistent enigma." (Issue: 2, vol. 124). United Kingdom: Heredity. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41437-019-0289-9

Awards

Trustees Award of Excellence

Utah Valley University - April 24, 2017

University-wide award recognizing overall excellence

Mendel Memorial Medal

Mendelianum – Moravian Museum - March 8, 2017

International award for scholarly research on the history of genetics.

Karl G. Maeser General Education Professorship

Brigham Young University

In recognition of excellence in general education teaching

Karl G. Maeser Excellence in Teaching Award

Brigham Young University

BYU's highest teaching award, in recognition of excellence in teaching

Teacher of the Year

Brigham Young University

Teacher of the year (voted by graduating students)

Teacher of the Year

Brigham Young University

Departmental teaching award, by vote of graduating students