Bram Govaerts, director general of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, will kick off the A.D. White Professors-at-Large spring 2026 visits with a pair of talks addressing agri-food research and innovation.

Named for Cornell’s first president, the program sponsors scholars and public intellectuals in the life sciences, physical sciences, humanities, social sciences and the arts. Other scheduled A.D. White PAL visits this semester:

• Keri Putnam (arts): Cornell Tech, March 14-17; Ithaca campus, March 18-20;
• May Berenbaum, Ph.D. ’80 (life sciences): March 16-18;
• Louis Massiah ’77 (arts): April 6-10; and
• Jordan Ellenberg (physical sciences): April 13-17.

Govaerts’ talk is titled “Tectonic Shifts in Agri-food Research and Innovation for Development: What is Next?” He will speak at Feb. 24 at 12:20 p.m. at a location to be determined and again on Feb. 25 at 12:30 p.m. in Warren Hall, Room 401.

Govaerts is a renowned scientist in bioscience engineering and soil sciences. His focus is on transformative, sustainable agricultural innovations that reimagine farming systems, safeguard natural ecosystems and strengthen food security worldwide. He has served as member of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and in 2020 was elected a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy.

In November, for his service to humanity and contributions to sustainable agriculture, Govaerts was honored by the king of his native Belgium with the title “Commander of the Order of the Crown.”

Putnam will meet with students on March 18 at 6 p.m. in Carl Becker House, West Campus, then host a keynote film screening of the 2025 documentary film, “Seeds,” followed by a Q&A, on March 19 at 6 p.m. at Cornell Cinema, in Willard Straight Hall. “Seeds,” which explores the lives of Black generational farmers, was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

Putnam is a former executive at HBO, Miramax Films and the Sundance Institute; in 2022 she founded the production company Putnam Pictures, dedicated to championing transformative storytelling. While at Sundance, Putnam helped foster outreach and diversity in independent film through several initiatives, including the Women at Sundance program. She also helped launch international festivals and labs in China, India and elsewhere.

Berenbaum, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois, will give a public talk, “What’s So Funny About Science Anyway?” on March 16 at 12:10 p.m. in Corson Hall, Room A106. She will talk about science education and share some of her entomology-based poetry. She will also speak to the BioEE 3690 class on chemical ecology, the subject of the course and a focus of her studies while in graduate school at Cornell.

Berenbaum is a widely recognized entomologist whose research focuses on the chemical interactions between insects and host plants, and their implications in the organization of natural communities. A 1996 inductee into the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, Berenbaum has written six books about insects and in 2014 had a species of cockroach named after her (Xestoblatta berenbaumae).

Massiah – a documentary filmmaker and producer, and winner of a 1996 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (popularly known as a “genius grant”) – will give a keynote address on April 7 at 6 p.m. at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, titled “The Importance of Place: Documentary as a Tool for Community Building.” Massiah will discuss his practice and share excerpts from works developed in collaboration with a variety of communities.

On April 10 at 6 p.m., Cornell Cinema will host a screening of “TCB: The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing,” with Massiah in attendance. Massiah also will meet with student groups while on campus, and conduct conversations with members of St. James AME Zion church, a site of national historical significance, and other organizations to discuss potential projects.

Ellenberg, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Mathematics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, will give a public talk on April 14 at 5 p.m. in Baker Laboratory, Room 200. He will also visit classes, meet with the Undergraduate Math Club on April 13, and meet for tea with the Cornell chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics on April 15. His visit will coincide with Math Awareness Month.

Ellenberg focuses primarily on arithmetic algebraic geometry and number theory. He has earned numerous awards for his scholarly achievements, including the Simons Fellowship in Mathematics, a Guggenheim Fellowship and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship. He is a New York Times bestselling author; his most recent book, “Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Information, Biology, Strategy, Democracy, and Everything Else,” was published in 2021.

Twice during their terms, A.D. White Professors-at-Large visit campus for about a week while classes are in session to interact with students and faculty, and enliven the intellectual and cultural life of the university. The program was inaugurated in 1965 during the university’s centennial celebration.

Visit the ADW-PAL website for the full series of events, including select keynotes to be broadcast via eCornell.