Daniel Fairbanks

Faculty Member

Dr. Daniel Fairbanks

Biography

Dr. Daniel J. Fairbanks is Professor of Biology and University Research Officer at Utah Valley University (UVU). 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 Professor and Head of the Department of Plant Soil and Insect Sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Prior to that time he was Dean of Undergraduate Education, Associate Dean of Biology and Agriculture, Director of the Honors Program, and Professor of Plant and Wildlife Sciences at Brigham Young University (BYU). 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 and book chapters 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 biographical book on Mendel. Dr. Fairbanks is an accomplished artist, with sculpture, paintings, drawings, and scientific illustrations in museum, public and private collections, and publications 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

PhD, 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 , Genetics Symposium Honoring Gregor Mendel, "Gregor Mendel_ His Life and Legacy", Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. (May 4, 2024)
Fairbanks, Daniel , Mendel Memorial Medal, 2024, "A Tribute to Vítězslav Orel ", Mendelianum–Moravian Museum and Harvard University, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. (May 3, 2024)
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)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Fairbanks, Daniel J, (2023) "Review: Gregor Mendel – The Scientist_ Based on Primary Sources, 1822–1884" (vol. 105). Brno: Folia Mendeliana.
Fairbanks, Daniel J, (2023) "Leoš Janáček" . Brno: Mendel Museum of Masaryk University.
Fairbanks, Daniel J, (2022) "Gregor Mendel at his bicentennial_ highlights of the life and legacy of a scientific genius." (Issue: 1, vol. 58). Brno: Folia Mendeliana.
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

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