An agronomist (called an agrologist in Canada) is a scientist who specializes in agronomy, which is the science of utilizing plants for food, fuel, feed, and fiber. An agronomist is an expert in agricultural and allied sciences, with the exception veterinary sciences.

Agronomists deal with interactions between plants, soils, and the environment. They use various research tools and techniques to develop new crop hybrids and varieties that grow more efficiently that are more beneficial to society. Soils specialists conduct research in everything from the very basic to applied issues of soil and water management and land use. Agronomists research ways to produce crops and turf, and ways to manage soils in the most environmentally friendly way. Agronomists can be found teaching, conducting business, and doing research in food production and environmentally oriented industries around the world.

Agronomists work for USDA, State Departments of Agriculture, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and as agriculturists in foreign countries. They work for banks, farm co-ops, seed, agricultural supply and lawn care companies and government agencies. Agronomists also are employed as weather forecasters, environmentalists, researchers, and teachers.

Jean Léopold Dominique (July 30, 1930 – April 3, 2000) was a noted Haïtian journalist who spoke out against successive dictatorships. He was one of the first people in Haïti to broadcast in Kreyòl, the language spoken by most of the populace. Despite fleeing the country twice when his life was under threat, he continued to return to his native Haïti, firmly believing in the cause of the Haitian plight. He was assassinated on April 3, 2000, a crime for which no one has ever been prosecuted.

Dominique was born into the elite of French society living in Haiti. His father, Leopold Dominique, moved the family there from France with a belief in the cause of the Haitian plight. After Jean completed his private schooling in both France and Haiti, he trained as an agronomist agriculturalist in Paris, France. He believed in educating and training the Haitian people so they could take care of themselves. Upon his return to Haiti, he began working with the poverty-stricken peasantry. Using his skills, Dominique helped rural farmers to better manage their land and stay out of debt of wealthy landowners. Some landowners, in an effort to maintain control over the farmers, convinced local authorities to jail Dominique for six months. After his release he emerged as one of the strongest critics of the militant regime of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier.

Robert Jonathan Demme (born February 22, 1944) is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop Making Sense and a trilogy of Neil Young documentary/concert movies.

Demme broke into feature film working for exploitation film producer Roger Corman from 1971 to 1976, co-writing and producing Angels Hard as They Come and The Hot Box. He then moved on to directing, with three films (Caged Heat, Crazy Mama, Fighting Mad) for Corman's studio New World Pictures. After Fighting Mad, Demme directed the comedy film Handle with Care for Paramount Pictures in 1977. The film was well-reviewed by critics, but received little promotion, and performed poorly at the box office.

Demme's next film, 1980's Melvin and Howard, did not get a wide release, but received a groundswell of critical acclaim, and led to the signing of Demme to direct the Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell star vehicle Swing Shift. Intended as a prestige picture for Warner Bros. as well as a major commercial vehicle for Demme, it instead became a troubled production due to the conflicting visions of Demme and star Hawn. Demme ended up renouncing the finished product, and when the film was released in May 1984, it was generally panned by critics and neglected by moviegoers. After Swing Shift, Demme stepped back from Hollywood to make the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense; the eclectic screwball action-romantic comedy Something Wild; a film-version of the stage production Swimming to Cambodia, by monologist Spaulding Gray; and the New York Mafia-by-way-of Downtown comedy Married to the Mob.