He earned his B.Ag.Sc. degree with honors and Ph.D. from the University of Tasmania, Australia, with subsequent Post-doctoral training at Washington State University. Dr. Chilvers leads a field crop pathology program encompassing both basic and applied research, with current emphasis on seedling and root rot diseases Pythium and Phytophthora, soybean sudden death syndrome (Fusarium spp.) and white mold (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum).