ITHACA, N.Y. -- Agronomist Jane Mt. Pleasant joins the likes of Maya Angelou, Bill Gates, Andy Goldsworthy, Wes Jackson, Yo-Yo Ma and E.O. Wilson as one of "35 People Who Made a Difference in the World" in the November 2005 issue of Smithsonian Magazine.

Mt. Pleasant was recognized by the magazine for her merging of Iroquois tradition with Western science for a more sustainable future.

Associate professor of horticulture and director of the American Indian Program at Cornell, Mt. Pleasant was featured in the magazine's "Innovators of Our Time." The scientists, artists and scholars chosen were selected "because what they do -- or what they have done -- has made a difference. And a contribution. Each has been here before to enliven Smithsonian; most continue to enrich our lives by their work; all will doubtless inspire future generations by their example."

The article about Mt. Pleasant discusses how she "revitalized interest in the ancient Iroquois tradition of growing food through polyculture," which allows interdependent plants to flourish. It describes how she used polyculture to help farmers protect their soil and rescued from extinction several varieties of corn that native communities in the Northeast and Canada have relied on for centuries. By doing so, the magazine states, she has also "blended Native knowledge and Western science to give Native Americans a strong presence in the emerging field of sustainability science."

The Smithsonian Magazine first wrote about Mt. Pleasant's work in November 1995.