Honors, Awards, and Appointments for IRS, NRS, and BOT in 2012

Cheryl Adeva, Kurniawan Rudi Trijatmiko, Marina Manzanilla, Ma. Gina Borja, Paul Benny Malabanan, Marina Natural (UPLB), Jose Hernandez (ES), Lina Torrizo, and Inez SlametLoedin, PBGB Won the Best Oral Paper Award for the paper entitled Increasing iron content in rice by overexpression of OsYSL2 transporter gene via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, 8th Scientific Convention of the Philippine Association for Tissue Culture and Biotechnology, May. stress: transcription factor no apical meristem-mediated lateral root profusion as a functional explanation, 42nd Crop Science Society of the Philippines Annual Conference, April. Roland Buresh, principal scientist, CESD Received the Guangdong International Friendship Award for his contribution to the three-controls project across Guangdong Province, China, December. Michael Jackson and John Sheehy, former IRRI scientists Awarded an OBE, making them Officers of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of their services to international food science and agricultural research and development , including their work in helping countries address food security by developing climate-resilient crops at IRRI, January.

Nonoy Bandillo, Anna Mariel Toledo, and Nelzo Ereful (IRRI scholars from PBGB) and Ohnmar Myint (CESD) Honored for their exemplary academic excellence in the biological sciences by the International Honor Society of Phi Sigma, January.

Marlon Guerra, specialist-applications programmer, CESD Received the IRRI Award for Outstanding Research Support, April.

Tobias Kretzschmar, PBGB; Genelou Atienza, PBGB; and Taznoor Samina Khanam CO BD Won first, second, and third prize, respectively, in the Best Research Paper competition (Gene validation of a major QTL for tolerance of anaerobic conditions during germination; Ubiquitous resistance to rice tungro spherical virus is mediated by a gene for translation initiation factor 4G; Impact of rice price hike on poverty in Bangladesh), 2012 IRRI Young Scientists Conference, November.

IRRI Communication and Publications Services staff Won a gold award in the Electronic Publishing Category of the 2012 Critique and Awards (C&A) Program of the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), the third gold award in the last 4 years. Members of the 2012 Annual Report production team were Gene Hettel, managing editor; Alaric Francis Santiaguel, editor; Emmanuel Panisales, design and layout; Juan Lazaro IV, cover design; Bill Hardy and Tess Rola, copy editors; Chris Quintana and Isagani Serrano, photography coordinators; Joe Ibabao and Jessieca Narciso, videographers; Darell Sison, webmaster; Gigi Caballero and Cynthia Quintos, production assistants; and Lourdes Columbres, distribution.

Ruvicyn Bayot (CESD), Sophie Alvarez, and Boru Douthwaite Won the Best Poster Award (socioeconomics) for Maximizing project impact: the use of social network analysis to select project partners, 42nd Crop Science Society of the Philippines Annual Conference, April.

Julian Lapitan, senior manager, NPR Presented with a plaque of appreciation from NARC for his contributions to and support of establishing the IRRI Country Office in Nepal, R&D and collaboration in rice and rice-based cropping systems, and the development of Nepals Rice Knowledge Bank, November.

Akshaya Kumal Biswal, Rowena Oane, Aye Min, Manish Raorane, Adithi Ravikumar Vardarajan, Sumanth Kumar Mutte, Blesilda Enriquez, Isaiah Catalino Pabuayon, Angelo Gabriel Peralta, Arvind Kumar, Inez SlametLoedin, and Ajay Kohli, PBGB Won the Best Paper Award (upstream research) for Molecular dissection of the QTL DTY12.1 for rice yield under drought

Anilyn Maningas, assistant manager, TC Received the IRRI Award for Outstanding Administrative Support, April.

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Honors , Awards , and A for IRS, NRS, andIRS, BOT in 2012 and BOT in 2010 H onors , Awards ,ppointments and Appointments for NRS, Thelma Paris, senior scientist, SSD Awarded a plaque of appreciation by the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) for her contributions to capacity building of women scientists, researchers, and farmers of Nepal as well as to R&D in rice and ricebased cropping systems at the grassroots level, November. tolerant rice, particularly the submergencetolerant varieties, and for his commitment to capacity building of Nepalese scientists, November. Grant Singleton, senior scientist-rodent ecology and IRRC coordinator, CESD and Florencia Palis, scientist, agricultural anthropology, SSD The Pup1 Team, PBGB Received the IRRI Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement. The team members are Sheryl Catausan, Anthony Cruz, Cheryl Dalid, Rico Gamuyao, and Erano Ramos, April. Given plaques and certificates of recognition for their efforts in assisting with the development of Vietnams 1 Must Do, 5 Reductions program and for their engagement in a 2005-08 project on ecologically based rodent management, November. Lorena Villano, Tri Deri Setiyono, Tao Li (CESD), Piedad Moya, and Andrew Nelson, SSD Won the Best Poster Award (downstream research) for Rice yields and yield gaps in the Philippines: using statistics, survey data and crop simulation model to map trends and identify opportunities, 42nd Crop Science Society of the Philippines Annual Conference, April.

Parminder Virk, senior scientist, PBGB Named Honorary Fellow by the Crop Science Society of the Philippines in recognition of his significant leadership in rice breeding that led to the development and release of new rice varieties for productive environments (irrigated/favorable rainfed), April.

Harun-Ur Rashid, cropping systems specialist, CSISA, Bangladesh Won the Best Session Paper Award for Increasing productivity of rice-rice cropping system adopting short-duration rice and mustard and relay cropping, International Conference on Environment, Agriculture, and Food Sciences, August.

Chella Marie Valdivia (SSD), Florencia Palis (SSD), Ruben Lampayan (CESD), Zenaida Sumalde (SSD), Christian Umali (CESD), Rica Joy Flor (CESD), Arelene Julia Malabayabas (CESD), Emma Quicho (SSD), and Grant Singleton (CESD) Won the Best Paper Award (socioeconomics) for Farmers production and adoption: Impacts of alternate wetting and drying on rice farming in Bohol, 42nd Crop Science Society of the Philippines Annual Conference, April.

Reiner Wassmann, senior scientist and climate change specialist, CESD; Gerard Barry, senior scientist, biofortification and Golden Rice Project coordinator; and Romeo Labios, consultant, CLUES Project Recipients of medals from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for advancing the cause of agriculture and rural development in Vietnam, September.

Uma Shankar Singh, senior scientist and South Asia regional project coordinator of STRASA Received a plaque of appreciation from NARC for his contributions to the development and distribution of stress-

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