Dr. Paul Bosland is a Regents Professor of Horticulture at New Mexico State University and Director of the Chile Pepper Institute. He is popularly known as the "Chileman." Recognized internationally as an expert on chile pepper breeding and genetics with emphasis on breeding for Phytophthora resistance, Dr. Bosland has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific papers and is co-author of six books. He serves as Chairman of the annual New Mexico Chile Conference.

          Dr. Bosland has received many honors and awards including being named a Fellow of the American Society of Horticultural Science, the College of Agriculture and Home Economics Distinguished Researcher Award, inclusion in Who’s Who in America, the Gamma Sigma Delta Distinguished Award for Graduate Teaching/Achievement, and the infamous IgNobel, from Harvard University. He has delivered invited presentations or been a visiting professor at more than 30 of the nation’s leading universities including Harvard, MIT, and UC Davis.

          Dr. Bosland and his program have been featured in many media outlets including Smithsonian Magazine, Chronicle of Higher Education, Maxim, Martha Stewart’s Living, National Public Radio, Scientific American Frontiers, Travel Channel, Food Network, and Discovery Channel, to name a few. Dr. Bosland was even been an expert consultant to the television show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”

          Dr. Bosland’s Phytophthora research has graced the cover of the Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science. One of his cultivars, ‘NuMex Twilight,’ has been acclaimed by Organic Gardening as a “Plant Worth Having.”

          He has generously devoted his time as a classroom teacher in undergraduate and graduate courses and is highly regarded for his teaching skills. He receives very high compliments from his students in all of his courses and has made international graduate education a cornerstone of his program. Dr. Bosland was awarded New Mexico State University’s Globalization Award.

          Dr. Bosland earned a Bachelor’s degree in genetics in 1976, and a Master’s degree in vegetable crops in 1977 from UC Davis. While at UC Davis, he also earned a secondary teaching credential and subsequently taught at the high school and community college level. Additionally, he worked in the Cooperative Extension Service as a Research Associate administering potato trials in California. After these experiences, he returned to school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and earned his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics in 1986. He joined the faculty in the Department of Horticulture at New Mexico State University in 1986, where he rose through the ranks to full professor in 1994.

          Dr. Bosland is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society for Horticultural Sciences, Gamma Sigma Delta, New Mexico Academy of Science, Scientific Board of EUCARPIA - Capsicum and Eggplant, and Sigma Xi.