Joseph R. Pickens, Ph.D., a Chief Scientist at CTC, is known and has been honored for his work in advanced materials and manufacturing.  He has worked on some of the nation’s most sophisticated weapons systems, and his name is typically associated with things like aluminum lithium alloys, powder metallurgy, alloy design, and friction stir welding.  Now, however, a hobby is getting Dr. Pickens national attention.

Dr. Pickens believes this to be the largest known allee of disease-resistant American Elms in Maryland.  He planted these in 1994 with help from neighbors.

Under a 1994 donation from Norm Augustine, Chairman & CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation, to the Elm Research Institute (ERI), Dr. Pickens started a nursery to promote American Liberty Elms, which are resistant to Dutch Elm Disease (DED).  In 2004, an American Liberty Elm he had planted in 1997 showed signs of DED.  He observed elm bark beetle holes and examined cross sections of seemingly diseased branches.  He detected brown fungal rings.  Examination at both ERI and The National Arboretum confirmed that the tree had the dreaded DED.  Dr. Pickens brought out his “little black bag” and performed life-saving surgery.  Literally.  Dr. Pickens cut back the diseased branches until no DED rings were observed.  The prized elm rebounded and thrived, prompting an article in a national publication. 

In 1994, Dr. Pickens initiated the purchase of 120 American Liberty Elms—58 for a company he was working for and the rest for enthusiastic employees to plant at home.  In May 2004, when this elm showed signs of typically terminal Dutch Elm Disease (DED), Dr. Pickens cut away all visibly infected regions.		The same tree in May 2006 after exceptional bounceback.

Readers still contact Dr. Pickens for advice.  On American Liberty Elms, not just high-strength and toughness steels. 

“I’m an amateur arborist who loves the American Elm,” says Joe.  “I was surprised when Mary Bevan, CTC’s Manager of Communications Resources, called to say the press contacted her about me.  She set up the interview with the Baltimore Sun reporter.  It’s always a pleasure to encourage interest in a magnificent tree that was almost wiped out by disease and that is making a comeback because of our drive to preserve what a Baltimore Sun reporter called “a tree as American as Norman Rockwell and older than the U.S. Constitution.”

Dr. Pickens has proposed that DED-resistant American elms be planted on the south sides of CTC buildings to provide shade and reduce air conditioning costs.  The American Elm is very fast growing, strong wooded, and often has a 100-foot diameter crown at maturity.

Disease-Resistant Elm Makes Bid for a Comeback, Baltimore Sun,
May 26, 2007