Richard Meagher is an internationally recognized authority on plant molecular genetics, the plant cytoskeleton and phytoremediation. He is presently a Professor of Genetics at the University of Georgia, where he has been teaching and performing research since 1976.

Dr. Meagher's research received great international attention in 1996 with his publication of the first plants engineered to clean up the environment, in this case mercury pollution. Several more outstanding papers including three in Nature Biotechnology refined this phytoremediation research and helped to define the field of phytoremediation itself.

Over the past 26 years Dr. Meagher has lead a progressive and well-funded research program at the University of Georgia, receiving grants from various federal agencies including continuous support from both Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health for the last 17 years. He is the Principal Investigator on three million dollars in active grants at UGA at this time. Dr. Meagher has published more than 100 peer reviewed basic research articles in prestigious journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cell, Nature, Genetics, Plant Cell, Plant Journal, Nature Biotechnology, J. Virology and Virology.

Dr. Meagher received his BS with Honors in Biology from the University of Illinois in 1969. He received both his Master's in Biology and Bacterial Physiology in 1971 and his PhD in Biology and Enzymology in 1973 from Yale University.