Eric P. Beers, professor of plant science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, was conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors on May 19.
The emeritus designation is given to retired faculty members who have provided exemplary service to the university. According to the university, these individuals are specially recommended by President Tim Sands and, upon approval by the board, receive a resolution and a certificate recognizing their contributions.
Beers has been part of Virginia Tech for more than 32 years. His research focused on understanding xylem and phloem differentiation and function in plants. He secured $4.2 million in grants from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Department of Energy for his work on plant programmed cell death and wood formation genomics. Over his career, he published more than 43 original research articles, reviews, and book chapters that have been cited over 5,000 times.
In addition to his research activities, Beers served for 12 years on the Faculty Senate Committee on Faculty Ethics and participated in research integrity inquiries through the Office of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance. He also mentored graduate students for over 27 years within his program; he contributed to the Translational Plant Sciences Graduate Program for 17 years and was graduate program director for seven years at the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences.
Beers taught undergraduate and graduate courses covering topics such as plant biology, advanced plant physiology and metabolism, as well as crop physiology during his tenure at Virginia Tech.
He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Delaware before completing a doctoral degree at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences serves as Virginia Tech’s land-grant college with more than 350 scientists involved across local extension offices statewide; it maintains multiple agricultural research centers including Shenandoah Valley Agricultural Research & Extension Center among others according to its official website. The college aims to foster leadership through practical applications addressing agricultural challenges while extending its initiatives globally.
