How much water does rice need? - adron.sr

IASSVpeopleAwards and recognitionBui Chi Buu, director generalof the Institute of AgriculturalScience for Southern Vietnam,received the Senadhira Rice ResearchAward for 2008 for his outstandingcontributions to the development ofpopular rice varieties in Vietnam. Dr.Buu (pictured below), who receivedthe award at IRRI headquarterson 3 December, has enjoyed adistinguished career in rice breeding,during which he has emphasizedgrain-quality improvement, salttolerance, and resistance to pests anddiseases such as blast fungus, bacterialblight, and brown planthopper. Hisefforts have led to the certificationof many popular rice varietiesgrown by farmers throughout theMekong Delta. The award is namedafter Dharmawansa Senadhira,one of IRRI’s most successful ricebreeders, who died tragically in aroad accident in Bangladesh in 1998.Bui Chi BuuJ.K. Ladha, InternationalRice Research Institute (IRRI)representative for India, and S.K.De Datta, former IRRI agronomist,have been named AmericanAssociation for the Advancement ofScience (AAAS) fellows. In 2008,486 members, who are due to behonored at the 2009 AAAS AnnualMeeting in Chicago in February, wereawarded because of their scientificallyor socially distinguished efforts toadvance science or its applications.Dr. Ladha received his award “fordistinguished contributions topaweesinternational agriculture throughhis research, training, and extensionactivities in sustainable managementof natural resources for increasingfood security and environmentalquality.” Dr. De Datta, now atVirginia Polytechnic Institute andState University, was honored“for distinguished contributionsto global food security, the greenrevolution, and environmentalstewardship in a global context.”Another Vietnamese researcher,Vo-Tong Xuan, became the firstrecipient of the Dioscoro L. UmaliAchievement Award in AgriculturalDevelopment. Dr. Xuan, professor ofagronomy, former IRRI researcher,and former rector of An GiangUniversity, was recognized for hissignificant role in invigoratingthe rice industry in Vietnam andsharing his expertise in Africa.This regional award is aimed atpromoting agriculture by recognizingexemplary individuals who haveadvanced agricultural development inSoutheast Asia. The award is namedafter the late Dr. Umali, a NationalScientist of the Philippines, formerassistant director-general of the UNFood and Agriculture Organization,and former consultant to IRRI.IRRI Senior Scientist T.P.Tuong (below right with Tai CheolKim, Professor, Chungnam NationalUniversity, Korea) received theInternational Society of Paddy andWater Environment Engineering(PAWEES) Award 2008 for hisoutstanding work on natural resourcemanagement that has had impacton poor people and on protectingthe environment, especially inacid soils and coastal areas. Dr.Tuong, who received the award atthe PAWEES 2008 InternationalConference on 27-29 October inTaiwan, was also recognized forhis innovative integrated strategiesfor increasing water-use efficiencyand combating water scarcity,which have influenced the agendaof research programs globally.Also in Taiwan, IRRI SeniorScientist Hei Leung (below rightwith NCHU president Jei-Fu Shaw)was recognized as a Chair Professoron Molecular Breeding in theDepartment of Agronomy at NationalChung Hsing University, where hepresented a lecture in October.The IRRI-led InternationalNetwork for Genetic Evaluationof Rice (INGER) was named the2008 winner of the ConsultativeGroup on International AgriculturalResearch (CGIAR) award forOutstanding Scientific SupportTeam. The award was presentedon 2 December at the CGIARAnnual General Meeting in Maputo,Mozambique. A global partnershipof national and international centers,INGER facilitates the exchange andevaluation of elite rice breedingmaterials worldwide. It is coordinatedglobally at IRRI by Edilberto Redoñaand a team including ConnieToledo, Cel Laza, FrancoNazareno, Glenn Alejar, VirgilioAncheta, Jose Angeles, FeDanglay, Cenon Lanao, NestorLeron, Virgilio Magat, JoseMarasigan, Honorio Oboza,Renato Pizon, Allan Salabsabin,Ernesto Sumague, and JosephVicente. The recognition comeswith a US$10,000 cash prize.NCHURice Today January-March 2009