PEOPlE

Awards and recognition

avid Mackill, principal scientist in Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division (PBGB), has been given the Award of Distinction by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of California-Davis (UC Davis). The award is the highest recognition given to individuals whose contributions and achievements enrich the image and reputation of the college and enhance its ability to provide public service. Dr. Mackill received his BS degree in plant science in 1976, MS degree in agronomy in 1978, and PhD in genetics in 1981 from UC Davis. Victoria Lapitan, former IRRI scholar and now PhilRice scientist; Ed Redoa, senior scientist in PBGB; Darshan Brar, head of PBGB; and Toshinori Abe, Yamagata University professor, received the 2010 Outstanding Research and Development Award in the basic research category from the Philippine Department of Science and Technology and the National Academy of Science and Technology. The winning research, Mapping of quantitative trait loci (QTL) using a doubled-haploid population from the cross of indica/japonica cultivars of rice, was carried out by Dr. Lapitan under the JSPS RONPAKU (doctoral dissertation) Fellowship Program (2006-09), with the guidance of Drs. Abe, Redoa, and Brar. The paper was published in Crop Science, pages 1-9, Vol. 49, 2009. Samarendu Mohanty, senior economist and head of IRRIs Social Sciences Division, received the Outstanding Agricultural Economist award from the Western Agricultural Economics Association, a professional society of agricultural economists from all universities west of the Mississippi River in the U.S.
Dr. Samarendu Mohanty (third from left) shows off his award.

Dr. Mohanty was awarded this prize during the joint annual meeting of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, the Canadian Agricultural Economics Society, and the Western Agricultural Economics Association on 27 July in Denver, Colorado. A.K. Tripathi, A. Pattanayak, and S.V. Ngachan received the prestigious Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Award for research in tribal areas from the Indian Council for Agricultural Research in Umiam, Meghalaya, India, on 16 July 2010. Dr. Tripathi and his associates were recognized for their contributions to the recently completed upland project Rice Landscapes Management in Uplands for Improved Food Security and Environmental Sustainability. The project, which was implemented in India, Lao PDR, Nepal, and Vietnam by IRRI under the Consortium for Unfavorable Rice Environment framework, was funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Jagdish Ladha, principal scientist at IRRI-India and coordinator of the Rice-Wheat Consortium, was selected to receive the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) 2010 International Soil Science Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to soil science on the international scene. Gurdev S. Khush, IRRI rice breeder and principal scientist from 1967 to 2001, received the Doctor of Science (honoris causa) degree from Jawahar Lal Nehru Agricultural University, Jabbalpur, India, on 24 June 2010. This is Dr. Khushs 11th honorary doctorate degree. Earlier ones include those from his alma mater, Punjab Agriculture University,

Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, and The Ohio State University.

Keeping up with IRRI staff

RRI welcomed internationally recruited senior scientists Woon-Goo Ha, Benot Clerget, Fulin Qiu, and Axel Tonini; visiting research fellow Youngyun Mo; postdoctoral fellow Akshaya Kumar Biswal; and returning postdoctoral fellows Alice Laborte and Sunil Jhunjhunwala. Lenie Quiatchon, Conrado Dueas, and Evelyn Liwanag were promoted to assistant scientists. Mila Ramos retired as chief librarian on 15 August 2010. She joined the IRRI Library staff in 1965 and gave IRRI 45 years of uninterrupted and dedicated service. She served as library head since 2000.

In memoriam

n 12 June 2010, S. Sankaran passed away at his home in Salem, India. Dr. Sankaran was a postdoctoral researcher at IRRI in 1982 working on weed management in upland rice under varying moisture regimes. He received four gold medals from state and national scientific institutions for his postgraduate research and publications. Ha Dinh Tuan, deputy director general of the Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute, passed away on 8 August 2010. Dr. Tuan was a committed scientist who contributed much to upland work in Vietnam. He was instrumental in the successful completion of two recent upland projects at IRRI that were funded by IFAD and the Challenge Program on Water and Food. Tin Hla, former adviser and national coordinator of IRRI activities in Myanmar, passed away on 27 August 2010. He worked for IRRI for 9 years and was extremely helpful in ensuring the success of all IRRI-sponsored activities in Myanmar through his insightful advice and wisdom gained from his long service in the government. He was very passionate in ensuring that IRRIMyanmar collaborative projects and their technologies were properly integrated in the programs of the government so they could be sustainable.

Rice Today October-December 2010