2012 Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug Program Winners

DES MOINES, IowaIn celebration of the 2012 Borlaug Dialogue, The Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program on Oct. 17 announced its fourth set of fellowship recipients.

The program recognizes the importance of rice and wheat as key staple crops in addressing global hunger, and honors the accomplishments of Henry Beachell, Ph.D. and Norman Borlaug, Ph.D., who pioneered plant breeding and research in rice and wheat by providing funding support to develop the next generation of scientific leaders.

The Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program has supported 52 students from 21 different countries since its formation in 2009. Monsanto is funding the program for five years for a total of $10 million. The program is administered by Texas AgriLife Research, an agency of the Texas A&M University System.

This year's 14 recipients are citizens of seven different countries including the United States, China, Iran, India, Thailand, Mexico and Tajikistan. The four women and 10 men honored with this year's fellowship will pursue research dedicated to improving rice and wheat breeding with sponsoring professors and universities from around the world.

Each recipient receives support to pursue his or her research in one of these two important crops. In rice, recipients' projects include: breeding for water use efficiency and drought resistance, developing high-yielding varieties, characterizing root systems for water scarce conditions. In wheat, recipients' projects include: resistance to parasitic nematodes, identifying and characterizing new stem and leaf rust, molecular breeding to improve yields and quality of wheat varieties.

The 2012 recipients will be attending the events of the World Food Prize, including the World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony. The World Food Prize honors outstanding individuals who have made vital contributions to improving the quality, quantity or availability of food throughout the world. A complete listing of the winners and their projects is available on the Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug International Scholars Program Web page.

The program will begin accepting applications for 2013 on Nov. 1, 2012. Students interested in applying to the program can find more details by clicking here. Applications will be accepted until Feb. 1, 2013.