Born in Ibagué, Colombia February 20, 1949. Primary and secondary school in Colombia. B.Sc. California State Polytechnic College (San Luis Obispo -CA) major in Crops Production and minor in Soil Science. M.Sc. Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge -LA) major in Plant Breeding and minor in Experimental Statistics. Ph.D. Iowa State University (Ames -IA) major in Plant Breding and Cytogenetics, minor in Genetics. Colombian, Italian, and Swiss citizenships.