Before Kelly Dawe emerged as an innovative geneticist, his passion for flora was cultivated in backyard earth.

Born and brought up in Kansas until the age of 9, Dawe relocated in 1971 with his family to Colorado, a region he continues to regard as home. His parents had been raised in rural Kansas, and Dawe spent summers and family occasions revisiting his birthplace.

“My mom truly resonated with that Kansas agricultural lifestyle,” reminisced Dawe, Distinguished Research Professor and UGA Athletic Association Professor in Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.

His mother’s enthusiasm for horticulture was inherited by him, and together they meticulously planned each season’s harvest, purchasing seeds during winter and even maintaining a gardening journal.

“We always had a garden together,” he shared. “It was a tiny little garden, but it profoundly instilled in me a deep, solid interest in various types of plants.”

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