William (Ned) Friedman, the director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and professor of organismic and evolutionary biology was invited to the Chenshan Botanical Garden. This was his first visit to Shanghai since he took the post as the director of the Arnold Arboretum in 2011.
CAS’s Shanghai Chenshan Plant Science Research Center (SCPSRC) also invited professor Friedman to the academic seminar. Ma Jinshuang, the vice-director of SCPSRC; Chen Xiaoya, the director of the Chenshan Botanical Garden; more than 50 horticultural researchers; and some teachers and students from the Shanghai Normal University and Shanghai Institute of Technology, attended the seminar.
At the seminar, director Friedman introduced the status and history of the Arnold Arboretum in his report entitled, "What's new at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University". He also explained the relationship between the Arnold Arboretum and China by telling the story of Hu Xianxiao, the first person who had brought knowledge of botany from the Arnold Arboretum to China.
In addition he gave another speech called, "An evolutionary developmental perspective on the flowering plant reproductive syndrome". It covered the reproduction and evolution of flowering plants, and revealed the newest research achievements from his team.
William (Ned) Friedman is giving a lecture. |
By Tana
Edited by Fu Bo and Rakhee