55th Annual Vegetable & Flower Seed Conference

Tim Gottwald
Research Leader



Dr. Tim R. Gottwald received his B.S in Botany from Long Beach State University in Long Beach, California, in 1975 and his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Oregon State University in 1979. He joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) as a Research Plant Pathologist/Epidemiologist in 1979. Dr. Gottwald was stationed in Byron, Georgia, until 1984 when he moved to the ARS US Horticultural Research Laboratory (USHRL) in Orlando, Florida, to address the 1984 outbreak of citrus canker. Dr. Gottwald relocated with the USHRL when it moved to Fort Pierce in 2000, where he has served as the Research Leader (≈Department Chair) of Plant Pathology for the last 14 years. He has also been an adjunct Full Professor in the Dept. of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville since 1984. Dr. Gottwald’s research focuses on phytopathology and epidemiology to provide fundamental knowledge on exotic and domestic bacterial, viral, and fungal pathogens. His research collaborations span over 20 countries and findings have both driven and significantly changed plant pathogen eradication programs in the U.S. and abroad. A Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society, Gottwald’s work has earned multiple awards including the United States Secretary of Agriculture’s Honor Award for Outstanding Contributions to Agriculture in 2002 for contributions leading to the eradication of Plum Pox Virus in Pennsylvania in 2009. He has also received the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association ‘Researcher of the Year’ Award in 2006, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to Florida’s Agricultural Community in Plant Pathology and disease control on Florida citrus.

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