pEoplE

loyd Le Page was recently appointed by the CGIAR Consortium Board as the first Consortium chief executive officer. Mr. Le Page, a British citizen, is currently leading the Sustainable Agriculture and Development Division of Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. In this global role, he has primarily focused on working with small farmers and improving agricultural value chains in Africa and Asia. He brings with him a great deal of practical experience globally, regionally, and locally. He has gained the trust and confidence of many stakeholders of the CGIAR community and has been consulted by some of the centers in the development of Consortium Research Programs. Mr. Le Page is expected to lead the CGIAR in the implementation of its new business model. Glenn Gregorio was appointed as deputy head of the Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology (PBGB) Division effective 1 October. Dr. Gregorios primary responsibility in his new post is providing support to the head of PBGB in risk management and quality assurance activities, and in mentoring new staff. Dr. Gregorio will continue to be senior scientist and plant breeder for abiotic stresses such as salinity and zinc deficiency.

Nine IRRI scientists received the Merit Medal for the cause of science and technology development of Vietnam. The recipients were ( from left in photo above) Robert Zeigler, director general; Achim Dobermann, deputy director general for research; Gurdev Khush, former IRRI rice breeder and principal scientist (1967-2001); To Phuc Tuong, principal scientist; Darshan Brar, head of PBGB; K.L. Heong, senior scientist; Abdelbagi Ismail, senior plant physiologist; Grant Singleton, senior scientist; and Roland Buresh, principal scientist (not in photo). The Merit Medal for the cause of agriculture and rural development of Vietnam was given to William Padolina, deputy director general for operations; David Mackill, principal scientist; David Johnson and Martin Gummert, senior scientists; Sushil Pandey, senior economist; and Julian Lapitan, head of National Programs Relations. K.L. Heong, senior scientist and insect ecologist, was honored by the Third World Academy of Science, an international organization that promotes scientific excellence for sustainable development in the South. Dr. Heong has

Awards and recognition

RRI and its staff members were honored at the 3rd International Rice Congress (IRC2010) held on 8-12 November in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Vietnamese government conferred upon IRRI the First Class Friendship Order during IRRIs 50th anniversary to acknowledge the Institutes contributions to Vietnamese agriculture and almost half a century of collaboration between the two parties.
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Rice Today January-March 2011

been cited for his significant contribution in pest management related to ecology, biodiversity, and education. He developed insect population models for understanding predator-prey and insect-plant relationships, and quantified food webs in rice ecosystems and the impact of pesticides on biodiversity. From his research to understand farmers decision-making processes, he designed communication campaigns and entertainment-education programs for farmers. Dr. Heong is also one of the five newly elected fellows for agricultural sciences who will be inducted in the 22nd General Meeting of the CGIAR in Morocco in 2011. Kyu-Seong Lee, director of the Korea Plant Industries Association Cambodia Center of the Rural Development Administration (RDA), Republic of Korea, received this years Senadhira Rice Research Award in recognition of his outstanding contributions to rice research and international cooperation in rice varietal development. The award is given to a leading Asian scientist working on rice research. The award ceremony took place at the International Rice Congress in Vietnam. Dr. Lee is a former IRRI scientist who conducted seminal research on the genetics of resistance to bacterial blight in rice and, under the Germplasm for Utilization for Value Added (GUVA) project, produced quality seeds of japonica rice varieties for Korean farmers. He developed a collaborative project between RDA and IRRI aimed at developing more nutritious rice varieties for Korea and other countries. He has tirelessly promoted international collaboration between Korean scientists and scientists from IRRI and other ricegrowing countries.

lAnIE REyEs

Appointments