Davis, Calif.—Professor and geneticist Dr. Andew Walker of the University of California, Davis, is the recipient of the 2017 Merit Award, the American Society for Enology and Viticulture’s (ASEV) highest honor. He will be sharing his presentation, “The Southwestern Vitis – A Grape Breeding Motherlode,” on June 29, 2017, at the ASEV’s 68th National Conference in Bellevue, Wash.

Walker’s lab focuses on grape breeding and the genetics of resistance to pests and diseases. He breeds rootstocks for resistance to nematodes, phylloxera, fanleaf, drought and salinity, and wine grapes with resistance to Pierce’s disease and powdery mildew. He served as the Louis P. Martini Endowed Chair from 2000 to 2015 and was recently appointed the Louise Rossi Endowed Chair in Viticulture in 2015.

Walker is currently a professor and geneticist at the UC Davis, teaching general viticulture and grapevine identification. Dr. Walker has a long history of involvement with ASEV, serving as secretary/treasurer from 1999 to 2004 and technical program director from 2011to 2015. He was also ASEV’s Honorary Research Lecturer in 2009.