Distinguished Professor Emeritus Paul Gepts, Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, is a plant geneticist interested in crop biodiversity and domestication, its conservation, and applications to crop improvement. He obtained a diploma in Ingénieur Agronome from Agro-Biotech Gembloux (Université de Liège, Belgium) and a PhD in Plant Breeding & Plant Genetics from the University of Wisconsin, U.S.A. He has been especially interested in beans of the genus Phaseolus because they constitute a source of proteins and other nutrients in the human diet worldwide.  His publications have been cited ~ 34,000 times (Google Scholar, h = 94) and reflect the breadth of his research approaches, from botanical explorations in South America to the genetics/genomics of Phaseolus domestication.  His research on crop biodiversity has been widely applied in developing improved bean cultivars in California, the U.S., and abroad, principally in Latin America and Africa (the latter as a scientific coordinator of the African Bean Consortium funded by the Kirkhouse Trust).   His awards include election to fellow AAAS, the American Society of Agronomy, and the Crop Science Society of America (CSSA).  He received the Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources and the International Crop Science Award of CSSA.  He is the recipient of the Agropolis L. Malassis Prize from France.  In 2022, he was invited to give the Ron Phillips Lecture in Plant Genetics at the CSSA Annual Meeting.