Mark Gee
Genomic Prediction and Phenotyping Engineer, Beck's Hybrids
Mark Gee is an innovator with a love for agriculture. As a Genomic Prediction and Phenotyping Engineer at Beck’s Hybrids, he develops AI-driven genomic selection models and advanced sensors to optimize plant performance. His career has been defined by a commitment to practical application, from developing patented pollen preservation technologies at PowerPollen to collaborating with NASA on space nutrition systems. He has spent years working in India, Mexico, Puerto Rico, France, and the Netherlands building sustainable food systems and learning about global approaches to agriculture.
Mark’s trajectory was shaped at age ten when Dr. Norman Borlaug challenged him with a single question: "What are you doing to feed the world?". This sparked a lifelong connection to the World Food Prize, leading him to participate in the Global Youth Institute and serve as a Borlaug-Ruan Intern at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in India and CIMMYT in Mexico. For the past eight years, he has remained a devoted volunteer and mentor for the foundation’s youth programs.
Beyond the lab and field, Mark has a proven record of strategic leadership. While completing his PhD at Purdue University, he was appointed by Governor Holcomb to the Purdue Board of Trustees. In this role, he helped develop the strategic plan for the university through a Presidential transition, exercise fiduciary oversight of the university operations, set university policy through COVID and the emergence of AI, and successfully advocated for the inclusion of Digital Agriculture as a foundational pillar of the university's landmark AI initiatives.
Mark holds a PhD in Plant Genetics, MSE in Biological Engineering, and three Bachelor’s degrees in Biological Engineering, Biochemistry, and Agronomy.