UGA crop genomics pioneer Robin Buell recognized as 2026 SEC Professor of the YearInstitute for Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics graduate students (from left) Anne Frances Pontorno and Anne Pavia work with Buell in a greenhouse. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski)C. Robin Buell, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics at the University of Georgia, has been named the 2026 Southeastern Conference Professor of the Year, the conference’s highest faculty honor. An internationally recognized leader in plant genomics, bioinformatics and computational biology, Buell is a professor of crop and soil sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. (Photo by Dorothy Kozlowski) From left to right: Crop and Soil Sciences professor Robin Buell and graduate student Anne Pavia discuss plant genetics in a greenhouse. From left to right: Crop and Soil Sciences professor Robin Buell and graduate student Anne Pavia discuss plant genetics in a greenhouse.