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Lightning Symposium - Speaker Biographies
Juan Barba
Juan Barba is a consulting arborist in Tucson, AZ. He teaches about tree lightning protection and other aspects of tree care. He received his Bachelor of Science degree (Landscape and Environmental) from the University of Arizona.
Dr. Ed Barnard
Dr. Ed Barnard is a Forest Pathologist with the Florida Division of Forestry and supervises the state’s Forest Health Program. He studies diseases of trees in Florida including those predisposed by lightning strikes. Ed was educated at the University of Vermont where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Management (1969) and earned his Masters of Science degree in Forestry/Tree Physiology (1973) and his Ph.D. in Forestry/Forest Pathology (1977) from Duke University, North Carolina.
Joe Bones
Joe Bones has been employed by Bartlett Tree Experts Company (Philadelphia, PA.) for more than 30 years. Serving in his role as Mid-Atlantic Safety and Training Coordinator Joe has had the opportunity to supervise the installation of lightning protection systems both here and abroad.
Joe is a past president of the Penn-Del Chapter of ISA and serves on many industry and educational committes including the Tree Care Industry Association, ANSI Z133.1 Accredited Standard Committee, Philadelphia High School Horticultural Board of Governors, Williamson Trade School Horticultural Advisory Committee, and the Tree Dynamics Fund advisory committee.
Dr. Kim Coder
Dr. Kim Coder is a professor at the University of Georgia’s School of Forestry. He teaches and conducts educational programs throughout the world to a diverse audience of arborists and urban foresters. Dr. Coder specializes in tree biology, tree health care, and tree biomechanics in storms. He is past president of ISA, and has received several awards. Dr. Coder is an author of more than 400 publications and articles on trees and their environments. Dr. Coder has academic degrees from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa in Forestry, tree Biology, and Forest Ecology.
Dr. John Foltz
Dr. John Foltz is a retired professor of entomology at the University of Florida. He has worked extensively with the southern pine beetle and its importance to trees after lightning strikes. He earned degrees in Forestry and Entomology at Michigan Tech and the University of Michigan. Prior to coming to Florida in 1977, he taught forestry in Chile and studied the southern pine beetle in East Texas.
Ben Fuest
Ben Fuest is the leading installer of tree lightning protection systems in the UK. He is the inventor of the Arborbolt Dynamic Tree Fixing and was invited to write the lightning protection section for the British Tree Care Standard. He has installed many lightning protection systems in the UK for private and corporate clients.
A. William Graham, Jr.
A. William Graham, Jr. is a consulting arborist at Graham Tree Consulting. For more than 33 years, he was the Arboricultural Consultant and Educator at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a part of the team responsible for the development of new air terminals for lightning protection systems.
Mr. Graham earned his Bachelor degree in Ornamental Horticulture at Delaware Valley College of Science and Agriculture in Pennsylvania. He went on to earn a Masters of Science degree in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Delaware’s Longwood Program.
Steve Johnston
Steve Johnston is the vice president and division manager for the F. A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company in Georgia. He is an ISA Certified Arborist and an authority on arboricultural sales techniques.
Guy Meilleur
Guy Meilleur is an ISA Board-Certified Master Arborist, Utility Specialist, and Municipal Specialist. He has been an instructor at Duke University, lecturer at North Carolina State University, and staff arborist at the University of North Carolina. Guy is currently a curator at the JC Raulston Arboretum, and writes extensively for industry publications. His company Better Tree Care provides arboricultural consulting, expert witness, and tree care services.
Dr. Vladimir A. Rakov
Dr. Vladimir A. Rakov is currently a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida and co-director of the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing. He is the author of over 30 patents, one book, and more than 350 papers on various aspects of lightning.
Vladimir A. Rakov received his Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Tomsk Polytechnical University (Tomsk Polytechnic), Russia, in 1977 and 1983, respectively. From 1984 to 1991, he was Director of the Lightning Research Laboratory at Tomsk Polytechnic. In 1991, he joined the University of Florida, Gainesville. He is also Chair of the Electromagnetics and Energy Systems Division.
Dr. Rakov is a member of a number of national and international committees and a Fellow of three professional societies: the IEEE, IEE, and the American Meteorological Society.
Dr. William Rison
Dr. William Rison is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. He has been involved in lightning research since 1984. His area of expertise is the design and use of instrumentation for the study of lightning and thunderstorms. He is a member of technical committees on lightning protection standards for theNational Fire Protection Association and the Underwriters Laboratory. William Rison received degrees from the University of Wyoming (1973, B.S. Physics) and from the University of California Berkeley (1975, M.A. Physics, and 1980, Ph.D. Physics).
Saiful Anuar Mohamad Said
Saiful Anuar Mohamad Said began his career as an assistant curator in 1988 for the Singapore Botanic Gardens, National Parks Board, Singapore. While there he has worked in the Plant Introduction Unit, Planning and Development Unit, and the Plant Health Branch. In 1988, he moved to the Arboriculture Unit of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. He received his Msc (in Arboriculture) from the University of Aberdeen in 1999. In 2006 he joined Ngee Ann Polytechnic as a lecturer, teaching Plant pathology, Soil Science and Arboriculture to earn his Horticulture and Landscape Management Diploma. Currently he does consulting work for landscape architects, contractors, and developers.
Dr. Tom Smiley
Tom Smiley is an arboricultural researcher at the Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory in Charlotte, NC and an adjunct professor of Urban Forestry at Clemson University. Tom received his Ph.D. in Urban Forestry from Michigan State University, a Masters of Science in Plant Pathology from Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Recent studies have included work on mycorrhizae, tree bolting, tree risk assessment, fertilization, lightning protection soil compaction, tree growth regulators, and other soil amendments. He is the author of more than 100 scientific papers and articles.
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