PEoPlE

Awards and recognition

he Academy of Science of Malaysia honored two IRRI scientists Gurdev Khush and K.L. Heong. Dr. Khush, who retired from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 2000, was given the Gurdev Khush Mahathir Science Award for his pioneering work in developing rice varieties that have greatly helped alleviate world K.L. Heong hunger, while Dr. Heong was given the title Fellow of the Academy of Science for his contribution to rice insect ecology, innovative integrated pest management approaches, and farmer education through media. Dr. Khush was also among the recipients of the 2009 Award of Distinction from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the University of California-Davis. Two IRRI scientists were cited as distinguished alumna by the University of the Philippines Los Baos. Monina Escalada, former international research fellow at IRRI, was recognized by the College of Development Communication Alumni Association for spreading the art, science, and practice of development communication in Southeast Asia through her participatory research and extension projects. Florencia Palis, agricultural anthropologist in the Social Sciences Division (SSD), on the other hand, was cited by the College of Arts and Sciences for her work in extension. Florencia Palis Darshan Brar, head of the Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology Division (PBGB), received the Yunnan Friendship Award from the Yunnan Government, Republic of China. This award Darshan Brar recognizes the contribution of foreign experts in the
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development of Yunnan Province, where Dr. Brar has been working for more than 10 years with scientists of the Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences to improve rice through wide hybridization. The International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI) named J.K. Ladha as winner of the 2009 IPNI Science Award. Dr. Ladha is a senior soil scientist, coordinator of the Rice-Wheat Consortium in Asia, and representative of IRRI in India. A logo designed by Achilleus Les Coronel, professional service staff in Communication and Publications Services (CPS), was chosen by UNESCO as the logo for World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. The design represents cellulose film stock that forms an adorned box symbolizing collected media in their traditional state.

Keeping up with IRRI staff

ffective 1 January 2010, Roland Buresh, J.K. Ladha, Hei Leung, David Mackill, and To Phuc Tuong reached the pinnacle of IRRI research achievement, leadership, and prestige as they were promoted to principal scientists. S.M.A. Jabbar joined the Crop and Environmental Sciences Division (CESD) as visiting research fellow under the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences to investigate the impacts of continuous rice cultivation under alternate wetting and drying irrigation management. New scientists who have joined IRRI are Amit Mishra and Deeksha Krishna for soil and plant analysis at the IRRI- Andrew Nelson India Office under the Rice-Wheat Consortium; Andrew Nelson as geographic information systems specialist; Chengzhi Liang as crop information systems specialist; and Valerien Pede as economist. Valerien Pede Three members
Rice Today January-March 2010

of the IRRI Board of Trustees concluded their terms: Ruth Oniango of Kenya, Ronald Phillips of the United States, and Baowen Zhang of China. In CESD, Sarah Beebout replaced Tanguy Lafarge as deputy division head Sarah Beebout starting in January 2010. In a reorganization of management effective at the end of 2009, IRRI formed its Office of External Relations (OER), which will incorporate public relations and non-host-country external relations and subsume into it the offices and mandates of the Office of the Director for Program Planning and Communications, International Programs Management Office, and the Development Office. To provide leadership within the OER are Corinta Guerta, head of OER and donor relations and projects coordinator; Sophie Corinta Guerta Clayton, public relations manager; Julian Lapitan, national programs relations manager; and Duncan Macintosh, development director.

Staff who left

IRRI bid farewell to Hari Gurung, international research fellow in SSD, and Jong-Cheol Ko, visiting research fellow in PBGB.

Obituaries
Susan Hargrove, wife of Thomas Hargrove (IRRI editor and later head of CPS, 1973-91), passed away on 27 October at the Hargrove home in Galveston, Texas. Susan had lung cancer, but may have died of complications from radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Digna Salisi, secretary in the T.T. Chang Genetic Resources Center and IRRI employee for 18 years, passed away on 10 December after battling with cancer. Digna Salisi