Paul W. Bosland

Paul W. Bosland made the Guinness World Records of 2006 for discovering the world's hottest chile pepper, 'Bhut Jolokia'. A regents professor of horticulture at New Mexico State University, he has released more than 30 cultivated varieties, including a no-heat jalapeño pepper, for which he won the infamous IgNobel from Harvard University, and a habanero chile, 'NuMex Suave', which retains the unique habanero flavors without the heat. He has written or coauthored more than 100 scientific papers and is coauthor of six books. Known as the Chileman, Paul leads the chile breeding and genetic research program at NMSU where he cofounded and directs the university's Chile Pepper Institute, a research and educational center. He serves as chairman of the annual New Mexico Chile Conference, the world's largest conference dedicated to the chile pepper. His chile pepper gardening column appears in Chile Pepper magazine. He earned his bachelor's degree in genetics and his Master's degree in vegetable crops from the University of California, Davis, and his Ph.D. in plant breeding and plant genetics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Horticultural Science, among other honors.