Name: John W. (Bill) Van Roekel   Title: Agricultural Science Research Technician Organization: USDA-ARS-MWA-PIRU Role/Crops/Team: Bill coordinates land, equipment, and personnel needs for plant pathology trials. He monitors field plantings for weed control and plot thinning. Bill prepares inoculum and equipment for inoculating the trials, and arranges for the necessary personnel to inoculate the field trials. He coordinates and conducts seed health testing activities such as sample preparation and processing. Bill assists the Plant Pathologist with plant observations for disease diagnosis on seed-increase plantings, consults with curators about concerns they have with their crops, and collects and prepares samples for analysis. Bill oversees care of greenhouse plants which are used to test resistance to diseases, inoculation methods, or methods of controlling spread of disease in the greenhouse. Bill also provides technical assistance to curators or other NCRPIS personnel when his specific expertise is beneficial to the Station’s goals, such as with the Cuphea germplasm collection. Bill also trains the part time employees assigned to the Plant Pathology project, ensuring that they receive the appropriate and necessary safety training. Education:   B.S. Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 1999.   B.S. Ag Business, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 1983. Employment History: 1990-Current: Ag Sci Res Technician, NCRPIS, USDA-ARS, Ames, IA.   1988-1990: Circulation Manager, The Advertiser, Ames, IA.   1985-1988: Plant Manager, Burke Marketing Corp., Nevada, IA.   1980-1985: Production Supervisor, Personnel Manager, Buyer, Burke Marketing Corp. Nevada, IA.   1976-1980: Production Foreman, Burke Marketing Corp., Nevada, Iowa.   1971-1974: U.S. Army