Announcements


New Director General for IRRI

Dr. Robert (Bob) Zeigler has been appointed Director General of IRRI. Dr. Zeigler, a US national, is an eminent plant pathologist with more than 20 years experience in agricultural research in the developing world. No stranger to the CGIAR system, he led CIAT’s rice program, and was head of IRRI’s lowland rice research program.
More recently, Dr. Ziegler was head of the Department of Plant Pathology and Director of the Plant Biotechnology Center at Kansas State University, before working as Director of the CGIAR Generation Challenge Program based in CIMMYT, Mexico. He starts on April 1, 2005.
“I am especially pleased to be able to appoint as Director General someone who has worked here so successfully,” said Dr. Keijiro Otsuka, Chairman, IRRI Board of Trustees.

Welcome to New Center Board Chairs:

• Uwe Werblow, ILRI, succeeding John Vercoe
• Trond Bjorndal, WorldFish, succeeding Robert Kearney
  

Welcome to New Center Board Members:

• Ralph Anthony Fischer, Ermerlinda R. Roman, and Elizabeth Jean Woods join IRRI Board of Trustees
  
  

Honors and Awards

• Robert E. Kearney, former Board Chair of WorldFish Center, was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contribution to the sustainable management of fisheries resources and to the development of national and international research programs and policies.
• Stephen J. Hall, Director General of WorldFish Center, was awarded the Public Service Medal (PSM) for outstanding public service when he served as Director of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).
• B.B. Singh, IITA, was recognized as a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy during a ceremony held on November 2, 2004. He was also honored with The Tech Museum Award Trophy for 2004 for applying innovative technologies to improve the human condition.
• Julio Solis, CIP, won the Award for Scientific Investigation from the National Council of Science and Technology, Lima.

Farewells

• Emmy Simmons retired in February 2005 after 30 years of public service at USAID.
• John Monyo, Assistant Director General for Sustainable Development, FAO and Member, CGIAR Executive Council, retired in February 2005.

In Memoriam

• Mervat El-Badawi, CGIAR representative from the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, passed away in December 2004. Dr. El-Badawi will be missed by her colleagues at ICARDA and in the CGIAR.