Pioneer Member

Patrick Boyle – A great person, scientist, mentor and leader.

Stephen Duff – I would like to thank Rita Varagona for being a fantastic colleague, manager and mentor to me over the years at Bayer/Monsanto. Very few people have had as much positive influence on me or given me as much support as Rita. We first started working together years ago when she became my manager for a short while. At the time, she introduced to me a novel way to identify gene leads for advancement; a method which has broad application and has ever since influenced my thinking on diverse projects. Since then, we’ve worked together on several projects. She helped me think my way through many difficult and complex scientific problems. She was instrumental in helping me get promoted in the Fellows Program to a Full Fellow and always came to every one of my Fellow talks. (I believe she’s the only person to have done that.) Rita has provided great support for my development as a scientist and as a writer; I’d especially like to call out conferences, publications, patents. All this has continued even after I left the company. In fact, we are still working on shared publications!

Often when I was in a bind or hit a roadblock in my work (scientific or otherwise) she knew who to contact for an answer. When she didn’t, she always made a commitment to quickly find out.

She has always been willing to jump in and help, regardless of whether the task was in her area of expertise. She is terrific, fun to work with, a cheerleader for her colleagues, and a champion for their personal development.

Thank you, Rita, for playing such a large part in my career at Bayer and helping to make me a better scientist.

Erin Hall – I’m honored to celebrate Rita and her long career in plant biology. Not only is she a brilliant scientist, but her impact reaches far beyond her contribution to agricultural research and into the lives of her friends and colleagues. She cares deeply for her fellow scientists and takes every opportunity to promote and develop their growth. She maintains quality and integrity for all of her scientific achievements. I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to work with Rita.

Siva Manjunath (Manju) – Having worked with her for over 6 years of my early career at legacy Monsanto, and as my mentor for the past 27 years, I truly believe that Rita is one of the outstanding scientists with a passion and dedication to change the lives of millions of farmers through her cutting edge applied research in Plant Biotechnology. She is one of the best mentors who can support and guide her colleagues and team members to succeed in their careers and make a difference in advancing Biotech product pipelines. She absolutely deserves to be a “Pioneer of ASPB”

Timothy Rydel – It is my pleasure to support the nomination of Marguerite (Rita) Varagona as a Pioneer of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB). I have had the good fortune of being a colleague of Rita’s at Monsanto/Bayer in Chesterfield, Missouri for over twenty years. Rita has had an impactful career at Monsanto/Bayer over the years, and that continues to be so to this day. She has had roles as a bench scientist, as a scientific leader, and as a mentor to many. She frequently has a leadership role in the organization of our yearly internal Innovations in Crop Science scientific meetings. In recognition of all her impactful scientific and organizational contributions to our company, first as a Monsanto employee and now as Bayer employee, Rita is one of the select group of Distinguished Fellows in the Bayer Science Fellows Program. I also know that Rita is very active in the ASPB. Finally, and very importantly, Rita is a wonderful human being and colleague, who truly cares for others, and supports and encourages her colleagues in work and in work-life matters. All in all, Rita is fully deserving of this honor. Sincerely, Timothy J. Rydel, Bayer Senior Scientist and Fellow

Ty Vaughn – Rita’s impact to agriculture, science and the careers of many scientists is truly inspirational. Her passion for plants and farmers merged into a career where she has been part of numerous innovations that have advanced agriculture and plant science. Her focus on mentoring will leave a legacy of scientists that will be proud to call her a friend and advocate, including me.

Ruth Wagner – An inspiration to all who meet her, Rita has positively touched the lives and careers of thousands of scientists.

Bayer Crop Science – Rita Varagona has had an impact that has spanned both academia and industry. In her 27 year career at Bayer Crop Science she has had a lasting impact on agriculture through leading areas of research that have been foundational to developing biotech trait products for weed control. Because of these contributions, she has been recognized as a Bayer Crop Science Distinguished Fellow. In addition, Rita has been an active member of ASPB; she has served on the Executive Committee, is an ASPB Legacy Society Founding Member, and an ASPB Fellow. Importantly, Rita is a tremendous mentor and has touched the lives of many of her colleagues in the scientific community. Rita’s contributions demonstrate her commitment and passion for research, science, and developing the next generation of scientists, truly representing the values of an ASPB Pioneer.