Invited by Prof. LIANG Chao and Prof. ZHANG Xudong of the Institute of Applied Ecology (IAE), James M. Tiedje, the member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, visited the IAE from May 20 to 22, 2018.

On the morning of May 21, Prof. Tiedje had an in-depth discussion on scientific topics with the researchers and students from the Ecosystem Microbiology Research Group and Soil and Environmental Biochemistry Group. In the afternoon, Prof. Tiedje gave a talk entitled “Microbiome Science: Past, Present and Future” to almost 200 audients from the IAE and other institutes or universities. Accompanied by Prof. LIANG, Prof. ZHANG and Prof. HE Hongbo, Prof. Tiedje visited the buildings and facilities of IAE at Yunong Road.

Prof. Tiedje is currently a distinguished professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, and the director of Microbial Ecology Research Center at Michigan State University. As a pioneer of modern microbial ecology, he founded the International Society for Microbiology Ecology (ISME; https://www.isme-microbes.org/history-isme). He has long been dedicated to the research of microbiology, with particular attention to nitrogen cycling and biodegradation of environmental pollutants. His lab currently seeks to understand the ecology, physiology, and genetics/genomics underlying important microbial processes (http://cme.msu.edu/tiedjelab/jtiedje.shtml).