Mark Cooper,^1,*,** Carlos D. Messina,¹ Dean Podlich,² L. Radu Totir,² Andrew Baumgarten,² Neil J. Hausmann,² Deanne Wright,² Geoffrey Graham<sup>3

1</sup>ADuPont-Pioneer, 7250 NW 62nd Avenue, PO Box 552, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
²BDuPont-Pioneer, 8305 NW 62nd Avenue, PO Box 7060, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
³CDuPont-Pioneer, 7300 NW 62nd Avenue, PO Box 1004, Johnston, IA 50131, USA.

^*Corresponding author. Email: mark.cooper@pioneer.com
^**Mark Cooper completed his BAgrSc and PhD degrees and a Graduate Certificate in Education at the University of Queensland. From 1990 to 2000 Mark taught courses in genetics and plant breeding at the University of Queensland and supervised graduate students pursuing MSc and PhD degrees in quantitative genetics, plant breeding and related topics. In 1997, Mark was recognized by the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology as the Young Professional in Agriculture. In 2000, Mark joined Pioneer Hi-Bred and now has technology development and leadership responsibilities as a DuPont Fellow. His research has focused on seeking working answers to questions of broad relevance to plant breeding, including: (1) What can we learn about the genetic architecture of quantitative traits? (2) How do plant breeding strategies achieve sustainable long-term genetic improvement for quantitative traits? (3) What technologies can improve the effectiveness of plant breeding methodology? These and other related questions are pursued to improve our understanding of the limits of predictability that can be achieved when applying plant breeding strategies to long-term sustainable improvement of agricultural systems. Results from these research efforts have been implemented and have resulted in the release of commercial maize products. His research efforts have been recognized with a number of industry awards, including two Pioneer Achievement in Research Awards and in 2013 the DuPont Bolton/Carothers Innovative Science Award.