In Memoriam
James Martin Lyons
Professor of Plant Sciences, Emeritus
UC Davis
1929-2019
James M. Lyons, UC Davis Professor Emeritus of Plant Sciences and founding Director of the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, passed away November 9, 2019. He was 90.
Born and raised in Livermore, CA Jim earned a B.S. in Agricultural Economics at UC Berkeley. After graduation, he worked in the Safeway produce department and became interested in postharvest physiology of vegetables and fruit. He then joined UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) as a field assistant in Stanislaus County, but was drafted to serve in the Korean War.
Benefitting from the GI Bill and inspired by his UCCE experiences, Jim started graduate school study in the Vegetable Crops Department at UC Davis with the goal of becoming a Farm Advisor in Cooperative Extension. At Davis, he was part of a team that did the earliest research on the role of ethylene in fruit ripening, working with Professor Harlan Pratt, was among the first to use gas chromatography to monitor internal levels of ethylene responsible for triggering fruit ripening. Jim was intrigued by chilling injury in plant tissues that occurred well above freezing temperatures, at about 10C. This injury occurred in fruits of tropical origin and limited the ability of food handlers and grocers to store these fruits at temperatures that were low enough to extend their shipping times and shelf life. For his Ph.D., Jim carried out pioneering work describing the physiology of chilling injury in these warm- season crops.
In 1962, after completing his Ph. D. in Plant Physiology, he joined the Vegetable Crops faculty at UC Riverside, where he continued to work on chilling injury, plant physiology, and weed management research. During this period, his research on chilling injury was particularly notable and established his international scientific reputation. Jim was interested in the biochemical sensor of chilling temperatures and speculated that it may reside in the fats that comprise cellular and subcellular membranes. He tested this hypothesis while on sabbatical in Australia with Professor John Raison. Together they demonstrated that mitochondrial respiration exhibited a sharp discontinuity at 10C, the chilling temperature threshold, and presented a model that chilling temperatures caused a metabolic disruption that could be attributed to the composition of membranes that resulted in their solidification at 10C. This was a controversial proposal that generated a great deal of research attempting to confirm or refute the theory. As a result, the initial paper of Lyons and Raison has now been cited over 340 times and was recognized as a “Citation Classic”.
While at UC Riverside, befitting the natural administrator that he was, Jim became Department Chair of Vegetable Crops as an assistant professor.
In 1970, Jim was recruited back to UC Davis, this time as Chair of the Vegetable Crops Department. The late 1960s and 1970s was a period when public funding for the University of California was being drastically reduced and, in particular, budgets for commodity research were being cut off. Jim took leadership in convincing the agricultural industry that they needed to step up and start funding research in a major way. He worked with the tomato industry to set up the first marketing order research program and went on to help develop similar programs for many commodities, ensuring that important applied research could continue at UC to solve crop production problems. Jim's knack for fostering collaboration was rapidly recognized at UC Davis and he was soon appointed Associate Dean for Plant Sciences and Pest and Disease Management in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. While in the Dean’s Office, Jim was an advocate for advancing basic sciences and biotechnology into the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences crop production departments. He took leadership in recruiting a number of faculty with biotechnology expertise into the Departments of Agronomy and Range Science, Pomology, Vegetable Crop, Environmental Horticulture, and Viticulture and Enology. As Associate Dean, he strove to get people out of their departmental silos and working together in a more interdisciplinary manner. A notable example was the development of the Plant Growth Laboratory, an interdisciplinary and inter-departmental research group, that Jim initiated. Soon after he became Associate dean, Jim canvased Plant Science faculty asking for projects that would strongly impact their research. As a result, an interdepartmental plant growth chamber facility with a number of, high intensity light chambers was developed, open to all campus researchers on request.
In 1979, Jim became founding Director of the newly established UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, a post he held for 9 years. It was under his leadership that the key components of the program were established: the regionally based UCCE IPM advisors, the education and publications group, the UC IPM computer system, and the Technical Advisory Committee that oversaw a robust competitive grant program.
Under Jim's guidance, the UC IPM Program brought together scientists from many disciplines, UC campuses and UCCE offices to engage cooperatively in research and extension programs across California in a way that hadn't previously occurred. It was a model that was praised nationally and other organizations and states sought to emulate. Because the program was comprehensive, involving both research and extension, and clearly directed at solving problems, it was successful in helping California growers of many crops better manage pests and reduce the use of the most toxic pesticides. Jim also played an important role in encouraging the development of other statewide programs, including Small Farms Center, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, Genetic Resources Conservation Program, and the Agricultural Issues Center.
Despite his accomplishments, Jim kept a low profile and let others enjoy the credit for these programs and other innovations that he led. He defended those programs vigorously, but allowed people the flexibility to excel. His genius was his ability to bring a group of diverse people together to meet a common goal.
Jim held many other administrative positions at UC Davis and in the UC Agricultural and Natural Resources, including Director of the UC ANR Center for Pest Management Research, Assistant Director of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Program, and Assistant Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. He retired in 1991.
Among recognitions was election to Fellow in the California Academy of Sciences and was awarded the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Award of Distinction in 2001.
He is survived by his wife Nancy, daughter Laura, son Andy and several grandchildren.
Alan B. Bennett
R. William Breidenbach
Mary Lou Flint
Calvin O. Qualset
Born and raised in Livermore, CA Jim earned a B.S. in Agricultural Economics at UC Berkeley. After graduation, he worked in the Safeway produce department and became interested in postharvest physiology of vegetables and fruit. He then joined UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) as a field assistant in Stanislaus County, but was drafted to serve in the Korean War.
Benefitting from the GI Bill and inspired by his UCCE experiences, Jim started graduate school study in the Vegetable Crops Department at UC Davis with the goal of becoming a Farm Advisor in Cooperative Extension. At Davis, he was part of a team that did the earliest research on the role of ethylene in fruit ripening, working with Professor Harlan Pratt, was among the first to use gas chromatography to monitor internal levels of ethylene responsible for triggering fruit ripening. Jim was intrigued by chilling injury in plant tissues that occurred well above freezing temperatures, at about 10C. This injury occurred in fruits of tropical origin and limited the ability of food handlers and grocers to store these fruits at temperatures that were low enough to extend their shipping times and shelf life. For his Ph.D., Jim carried out pioneering work describing the physiology of chilling injury in these warm- season crops.
In 1962, after completing his Ph. D. in Plant Physiology, he joined the Vegetable Crops faculty at UC Riverside, where he continued to work on chilling injury, plant physiology, and weed management research. During this period, his research on chilling injury was particularly notable and established his international scientific reputation. Jim was interested in the biochemical sensor of chilling temperatures and speculated that it may reside in the fats that comprise cellular and subcellular membranes. He tested this hypothesis while on sabbatical in Australia with Professor John Raison. Together they demonstrated that mitochondrial respiration exhibited a sharp discontinuity at 10C, the chilling temperature threshold, and presented a model that chilling temperatures caused a metabolic disruption that could be attributed to the composition of membranes that resulted in their solidification at 10C. This was a controversial proposal that generated a great deal of research attempting to confirm or refute the theory. As a result, the initial paper of Lyons and Raison has now been cited over 340 times and was recognized as a “Citation Classic”.
While at UC Riverside, befitting the natural administrator that he was, Jim became Department Chair of Vegetable Crops as an assistant professor.
In 1970, Jim was recruited back to UC Davis, this time as Chair of the Vegetable Crops Department. The late 1960s and 1970s was a period when public funding for the University of California was being drastically reduced and, in particular, budgets for commodity research were being cut off. Jim took leadership in convincing the agricultural industry that they needed to step up and start funding research in a major way. He worked with the tomato industry to set up the first marketing order research program and went on to help develop similar programs for many commodities, ensuring that important applied research could continue at UC to solve crop production problems. Jim's knack for fostering collaboration was rapidly recognized at UC Davis and he was soon appointed Associate Dean for Plant Sciences and Pest and Disease Management in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. While in the Dean’s Office, Jim was an advocate for advancing basic sciences and biotechnology into the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences crop production departments. He took leadership in recruiting a number of faculty with biotechnology expertise into the Departments of Agronomy and Range Science, Pomology, Vegetable Crop, Environmental Horticulture, and Viticulture and Enology. As Associate Dean, he strove to get people out of their departmental silos and working together in a more interdisciplinary manner. A notable example was the development of the Plant Growth Laboratory, an interdisciplinary and inter-departmental research group, that Jim initiated. Soon after he became Associate dean, Jim canvased Plant Science faculty asking for projects that would strongly impact their research. As a result, an interdepartmental plant growth chamber facility with a number of, high intensity light chambers was developed, open to all campus researchers on request.
In 1979, Jim became founding Director of the newly established UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, a post he held for 9 years. It was under his leadership that the key components of the program were established: the regionally based UCCE IPM advisors, the education and publications group, the UC IPM computer system, and the Technical Advisory Committee that oversaw a robust competitive grant program.
Under Jim's guidance, the UC IPM Program brought together scientists from many disciplines, UC campuses and UCCE offices to engage cooperatively in research and extension programs across California in a way that hadn't previously occurred. It was a model that was praised nationally and other organizations and states sought to emulate. Because the program was comprehensive, involving both research and extension, and clearly directed at solving problems, it was successful in helping California growers of many crops better manage pests and reduce the use of the most toxic pesticides. Jim also played an important role in encouraging the development of other statewide programs, including Small Farms Center, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, Genetic Resources Conservation Program, and the Agricultural Issues Center.
Despite his accomplishments, Jim kept a low profile and let others enjoy the credit for these programs and other innovations that he led. He defended those programs vigorously, but allowed people the flexibility to excel. His genius was his ability to bring a group of diverse people together to meet a common goal.
Jim held many other administrative positions at UC Davis and in the UC Agricultural and Natural Resources, including Director of the UC ANR Center for Pest Management Research, Assistant Director of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Program, and Assistant Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station. He retired in 1991.
Among recognitions was election to Fellow in the California Academy of Sciences and was awarded the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Award of Distinction in 2001.
He is survived by his wife Nancy, daughter Laura, son Andy and several grandchildren.
Alan B. Bennett
R. William Breidenbach
Mary Lou Flint
Calvin O. Qualset
