Food securityNew Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences announced
The National Academy of Sciences announced the creation of a new prize, the NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences, to be presented annually beginning in 2017 with an award of $100,000. The NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences will recognize research by a mid-career scientist at a U.S. institution who has made an extraordinary contribution to agriculture or to the understanding of the biology of a species fundamentally important to agriculture or food production.
The National Academy of Sciences announced the creation of a new prize, the NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences, to be presented annually beginning in 2017 with an award of $100,000. The prize is being endowed through gifts from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences will recognize research by a mid-career scientist at a U.S. institution who has made an extraordinary contribution to agriculture or to the understanding of the biology of a species fundamentally important to agriculture or food production. The prize may also be shared by two or more scientists who collaborated closely on the discovery or accomplishment to be recognized. For the purpose of the prize, areas of science with applications to agriculture include plant and animal sciences, microbiology, nutrition, and food science, soil science, entomology, veterinary medicine, and agricultural economics. Nominations for the inaugural prize will be accepted online until 3 October 2016, at www.nasonline.org/awards-food-and-agriculture.
“Scientific discovery has the power to transform how we live through the food we eat,” said Sally Rockey, executive director of FFAR. “The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research is proud to partner with the Gates Foundation to establish this important prize recognizing, for the first time at the Academy, mid-career food and agricultural scientists for research achievements leading to cutting-edge technologies and practices that impact how we produce and deliver nutritious food around the world.”
“Food and agricultural research has been a key foundation of advances in human nutrition and economic growth, and will continue to be essential to future growth, resilience, and conservation of resources and the environment,” said Rob Horsch, deputy director of agricultural development of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “This new prize will acknowledge, reward, and encourage major contributions to the field.”
“Endless discovery and innovation is essential in the quest to improve the quality of nutrition for all humans while recognizing inherent limitations in land, fresh water, and environmentally safe levels of fertilizer application,” said National Academy of Sciences president Marcia McNutt. “This new prize allows the National Academy of Sciences to recognize and support scientists whose research has the potential to improve our global food system.”
The nonprofit FFAR says it builds unique partnerships to support innovative and actionable science addressing today’s food and agriculture challenges. The foundation was established by the Farm Bill passed in 2014 and changed with complementing and furthering the important work of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Leveraging public and private resources, FFAR aims to increase the scientific and technological research, innovation, and partnerships critical to enhancing sustainable production of nutritious food for a growing global population.
