Ignacio Chapela (born 1959) is a microbial ecologist and mycologist at the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for a 2001 paper in Nature on the flow of transgenes into wild maize populations,[1][2] as an outspoken critic of the University of California’s ties to the biotechnology industry, as well as a later dispute with the University over denial of tenure that Chapela argued was politically motivated. Chapela is also notable for his work with natural resources and indigenous rights.
“We sat in Strawberry Canyon, high above the city of Berkeley, surveying the whole San Francisco Bay Area: the Golden Gate Bridge to the right, gateway to the Pacific Ocean, the end of the west, beginning of the east; and what the world knows as Silicon Valley to the left, locus of technology, innovation, and new economies. From this sweeping vista, a series of unexpected gifts seemed to appear out of thin air: a loaf of homemade bread from Ignacio’s partner, Lisa Thompson; a passerby who recited a Robert Frost poem to us (see page 21); a family of deer and a herd of wild turkeys; and a surprise visit from social historian Iain Boal.”
Contributed by
Juan Pablo Macías