John Z. Kiss

John Z. Kiss (born 1960) is an American biologist known for his work on the gravitational and space biology of plants. Kiss is senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the Florida Institute of Technology. Previously, he was dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He has also served as dean of the Graduate School at the University of Mississippi. and distinguished professor and chair of the botany department at Miami University. He has worked with NASA since 1987 and served as principal investigator on eight spaceflight experiments on the Space Shuttle, the former Russian space station Mir, and on the International Space Station. His research focuses on the sensory physiology of plants in space. He received the NASA Outstanding Public Leadership Medal in 2014. In 2021, Asteroid Kiss 8267 was named in his honor, a recognition that coincided with his receipt of the 2021 COSPAR International Cooperation Medal. His international collaboration on a spaceflight project with NASA and the European Space Agency has led to the discovery of novel sensory mechanisms in plants. Provided by Wikipedia