Dr. Peter H. Raven, President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden, paid a visit to XTBG on May 18. He delivered a lecture entitled “Conserving Plants in a Changing World” to the staff members and students, which aroused much interest among the audience.

Dr. Chen Jin, director of XTBG, gave a warm reception to the world leading botanist.

Dr. Peter H. Raven (left) and Chen Jin

While talking with XTBG leaders and scientists, Dr. Peter H. Raven offered suggestions for the future development of XTBG.

Prof. Xu Zaifu (left) and Dr. Peter H. Raven

Peter H. Raven is one of the world's leading botanists and advocates of conservation and biodiversity.

For four decades, he headed the Missouri Botanical Garden, an institution he nurtured into a world-class center for botanical research, education and horticultural display. He retired as president in 2010 and assumed the role of president emeritus and consultant through 2014.

Described by Time magazine as a "Hero for the Planet," Raven champions research around the world to preserve endangered plants and is a leading advocate for conservation and a sustainable environment.

In recognition of his work in science and conservation, Raven is the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the prestigious International Prize for Biology from the government of Japan and the U.S. National Medal of Science, the country's highest award for scientific accomplishment. He has held Guggenheim and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowships.

Dr. Raven is Co-editor of the Flora of China, a joint Chinese-American international project that is leading to a contemporary, 50-volume account on all the plants of China. He was the first chair of the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation, a private, congressionally-chartered organization that funds joint research with the independent countries of the former Soviet Union. He is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Taipei, and has served as a member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Committee for Science and Technology in the past.

In China, he was elected a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1994, and has also been named Honorary Director of the Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany and of the Herbarium, Institute of Botany, Beijing; Honorary Director, Nanjing Botanical Garden Mem. Sun Yat-sen; Honorary Chairman, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany; Honorary Director, Wuhan Institute of Botany; Honorary Professor, Honorary Professor, Peking University; Honorary Professor, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou.