Life history interview conducted by Chris Petersen.
November 21, 2014Location: Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center, Adams, Oregon.
Dick Smiley (b. 1943) was a Professor of Plant Pathology at the Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center (CBARC) for nearly thirty years, and served as director of the branch from 1985 to 2000. CBARC is located just outside of Pendleton, Oregon, and the research and extension work conducted there serves eastern Oregon's farmers and ranchers, and focuses primarily on agricultural concerns related to wheat and other dry land crops. Smiley created the region's first plant pathology research program when he arrived at the station in 1985, and later conducted important work on the impact of nematodes on area crops. His interview focuses on his scientific research in soils and plant pathology, and his institutional memories of life, work and community engagement in Oregon's wheat country.