Wolfgang Schweigkofler, PhD

Wolfgang grew up on a small winery in Italy. After finishing his studies of microbiology in Vienna, Austria, he was a post-doctoral fellow first at the Research Center Laimburg, Italy, working on bio-control of soil-dwelling insects, and then at UC Berkeley, working on forest pathogens. From 2004-2011 he worked as a senior plant pathologist at the Research Center Laimburg. He moved to the US in 2011, working shortly at a biotech start-up before accepting a position at Dominican. Currently, he is a research associate professor and lead scientist at NORS-DUC, the National Ornamentals Research Site at Dominican. His research interests include diseases of grapevine, apple and ornamentals, forest pathology, biological control, biodiversity, and invasive biology. Wolfgang co-authored three book chapters on fungal biodiversity and plant pathology and has published more than 30 scientific and technical papers.

Education

University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria, PhD, Applied Biology

University of Vienna, Austria, MSc, Biological Sciences

Research Interests

Wolfgang uses the laboratory, a state-of-the-art research nursery, and field studies i) to detect and identify plant pathogens, ii) to study the life-cycle, biology and spreading pattern of the microbes and iii) to control plant pathogens using environmentally friendly and sustainable methods.

Honors and Awards

• Theodor-Körner Award for Science and Art, Vienna, Austria, 1998 
• Eduard-Wallnöfer Award for Science, Innsbruck, Austria, 2003