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The challenges highlighted previously indicate that changingagriculture and food production in ways that ensure improvedsustainability and a healthier and more nutritious food supplyinvolve the increased use of biodiversity for food and agriculture.Despite the scale of the challenges, one must also recognizethat the technological progress on several fronts is impressive,in physics and chemistry with nanotechnology, in information andcommunication technology, with innovations that increase ourability to respond to risks and challenges. In recent years, biologyhas produced tremendous advances that allow us to broaden ourunderstanding of the complex mechanisms in plants, animals,and microorganisms. From such advances will arise innovations to besides increased productivity, safety, and quality of food essentialto ensure a more sustainable future for humanity.MAURICIO ANTONIO LOPES, PH.D.Maurício Lopes, a plant geneticist by training, received his B.Sc.degree in Agronomy (1983) from the Federal University of Viçosa,Brazil, his M.S. degree in Plant Genetics (1989) from PurdueUniversity, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA and his Ph.D. in MolecularBiology (1993) from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona,USA. Dr. Lopes served in a number of nationaland international committees, missions,panels, and working groups related toagricultural R&D, including, the Foodand Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations. Since 2013 he hasbeen a member of the Global Panelon Agriculture and Food Systems forNutrition, in London, and member of theExecutive Board of the Global Crop DiversityTrust in Bonn, Germany. Currently,he is the President of Embrapa,the Brazillian AgriculturalResearch Corporation.Page 26 » Across the Divide » Lopes