ANNOUNCEMENTS
IITA Staff Reunite in Arkansas
An IITA Alumni Reunion was held May 21-24, 1999, at the premises of Winrock International near Morrilton, Arkansas. The purposes of the reunion were to renew friendships, refresh memories, exchange experiences, and also to become acquainted with the IITA of today. Henk and Carol Knipscheer served as hosts and program co-chairs for the 100 plus participants. Several current IITA staff members also attended the reunion.
During a special dinner gifts were exchanged and three short speeches were made. John Nickel remembered the early days of IITA. Bill Gamble reflected on his years of tenure, especially on the loyal, dedicated and highly competent staff members and their highly supportive families. Ermond Hartmans remembered IITA as one harmonious community of 45 nationalities that was well aware of the great potential of the African farmer.
Ermond Hartmans will help to organize a second reunion, targeted for the year 2001 with The Netherlands and Italy among the possible locations. Those who are interested to serve on the Organizing Committee are invited to contact Ermond. His address and e-mail are given in the IITA Alumni Directory which was distributed at the first reunion.
Award to CGIAR Scientist
Dr. John Ryan, principal scientist at ICARDA, has been selected as one of the 1999 Fellows of the Soil Science Society of America. The award will be presented at a special luncheon at the Headquarters of the Society in Salt Lake City, Utah in November.
Malaysian Scientists Win Fisheries Award
The Naga award for 1999 has been awarded to the late Prof. Abu Khair Mohammad Mohsin and Prof. Mohd. Azmi Ambak of the University Putra Malaysia for their book, Marine Fishes and Fisheries of Malaysia and Neighbouring Countries. The Naga Award is an annual award given by ICLARM for a scientific paper or book by a developing-country author(s) that has had a strong influence on research in any area of fisheries science (capture fisheries or aquaculture).
The book by Prof. Mohsin and Prof. Ambak was described by the judges as a tour de force. It is a comprehensive and beautifully illustrated compendium on the marine fishes and fisheries of Malaysia and will be of great value to fish scientists around the world, especially those interested in tropical fisheries. The book is the result of a five-year study of the fishes of the estuaries, coastal areas, and the Exclusive Economic Zone of Malaysia.
The award was instituted in 1982 ICLARM, the leading international research center engaged in strategic research for the sustainable management and development of aquatic resources (fisheries).
In Remembrance: John Joseph Doyle
Dr. Jack Doyle was a veterinary surgeon and scientist who devoted his life to the alleviation of poverty, malnutrition, and environmental degradation in developing countries. To this end, he worked for 19 years in Africa. In 1975, he became a founding scientific staff member of the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases in Nairobi, Kenya. He was appointed as the first Deputy Director General of ILRAD in 1991. In recent years, he also advised the World Bank and other development agencies on research management and the safe and effective use of new technologies to address developing country problems.
Jack Doyle died in Glasgow on June 29, 1999. He is survived by his wife, Gabrielle Persley. Jacks intelligence, vision, energy, compassion and commitment will be sorely missed by his family, friends and colleagues around the world. The staff of ILRI wrote to Gabrielle and Jacks father and sister:
He left us more perhaps than he or even we realized. He left a standard, an alarmingly idiosyncratic, single-minded template. A man devoted to a single idea that science could answer human problems. And the courage to keep after that no matter what.
In Remembrance: Sir Ralph Riley
For nearly 25 years, the CGIAR system benefited greatly from the scientific advice and active involvement of Sir Ralph Riley, who was a distinguished leader of agriculture and related science in the United Kingdom over his long career. Sir Ralph served as a staff scientist and ultimately Director of the Plant Breeding Institute in Cambridge, U.K. from 1952 to 1978. He then worked as Secretary and later, Deputy Chairman, to the governments Agricultural and Food Research Council from 1978 to 1985.
Sir Ralph achieved numerous distinctions and awards during his career, including Fellowships in the Royal Society and Institute of Biology, the Wolf International Prize in Agriculture, and a Knighthood for his agricultural work in Africa.
Colleagues in the CG system will best remember Sir Ralph for his strong and dynamic contributions to the work of the TAC, to the scientific dialogue during Board meetings of IRRI and ICARDA, and to the deliberations of Review Panels for CIMMYT, IITA, and IRRI. He represented one of the worlds leading centers of excellence in agriculture, and he shared that expertise in order to help the CGIAR remain on the scientific cutting-edge.
Among many other activities, Sir Ralph was a veteran of the Second World War, a professor of Botany at Nottingham, and the Secretary General of the International Genetics Federation. He died at age 75 in August. He is survived by his wife, Lady Joan Riley. Sir Ralphs numerous contributions to the CGIAR system and Centers will long be appreciated.