Francis Yeh is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. He earned his Doctorate in Genetics from the University of Calgary. His scientific achievements have been recognised with numerous international and national awards, including the Scientific Achievement Award of Gold Medal from IUFRO for pioneering research in population, quantitative, and molecular genetics; the Arthur G. McCalla Research Professorship; the NSERC University-Industry Research Professorship; an Honorary Professorship from Nanjing Forestry University and the Chinese Academy of Forestry; and Visiting Professorships at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and CSIRO. He is the creator of POPGENE, the genetic analysis software used by scientists around the world. His publications include over 150 refereed journal articles, six books or book chapters, and seven special scientific publications.  His research areas include tree improvement and breeding, quantitative and population genetics, forest conservation, and biotechnology.