Dr. Thomas Molnar

Associate Professor

Rutgers University

59 Dudley Road
180 Foran Hall
New Brunswick, NJ 08816

(w) (732) 932-9711

About

Thomas Molnar received his PhD from Rutgers University in 2006. He is currently an Associate Professor in the Plant Biology Department at the same institution. He is responsible for the program dedicated to research and breeding of hazelnuts and woody ornamental landscape plants. The main focus of the hazelnut program is finding and utilizing resistance to the fungal disease eastern filbert blight, the primary limiting factor of commercial hazelnut production in the United States. Thomas has been working on this project since 1996, and has traveled extensively throughout eastern and northern Europe, Russia, and Central Asia in search of new germplasm for use in breeding. As a result of these efforts, many new resistant plants have been identified and the first new cultivars are being released to farmers. The woody ornamental program is primarily focused on dogwoods, as it builds upon decades of previous work at Rutgers started by Dr. Elwin Orton in the 1960s. A new kousa dogwood release, Scarlet Fire®, exemplifies the programs’ goals to develop and release attractive, high-value plants that incorporate disease resistance, wide-adaptation, and unique colors that are of interest to homeowners and the nursery and landscape industry in New Jersey and beyond.