Nyle C. Brady: The problem solver After 26 years at Cornell University in the United States, Nyle C. Brady became the International Rice Research Institute’s (IRRI’s) third director general in 1973. During 8 years at the helm, he pioneered new cooperative relationships between the Institute and the national agricultural research systems in Asia. After IRRI, he served as senior assistant administrator for science and technology at the U.S. Agency for International Development from 1981 to 1989 and was also a senior international development consultant for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank in Washington, D.C. Born in Colorado in the U.S., he earned his BS in chemistry from Brigham Young University in 1941 and his PhD in soil science from North Carolina State University in 1947. Now an emeritus professor at Cornell, he is the co-author (with Ray R. Weil) of the classic textbook, The nature and properties of soils, now in its 14th edition. He and his wife Martha are retired and live near Albuquerque, New Mexico Conducted by Gene Hettel
View full (edited) interview transcript with photos and hotlinks: (forthcoming)
Peter Jennings: luck is the residue of design
Peter Jennings, the International Rice Research Institute’s first rice breeder (1961-67), with a long career in Latin America after his work in Asia, kicks off this historic series with a singular wit. He played a major role in the development of IR8, the rice variety that would ultimately change the face of agriculture across Asia (see Breeding History on pages 34-38 of Rice Today Vol. 5, No. 4). He reminisced on a warm, muggy day (20 July 2007) at his home in Gainesville, Florida. Here are edited highlights of the interview. Conducted by Gene Hettel
View full
(edited) interview transcript with photos and hotlinks: html; pdf
Where science meets art As he prepares for retirement after 15 years at the International Rice Research Institute, molecular biologist John Bennett reveals himself as a scientist who not only appreciates art—he blurs the distinction between art and science.
By Meg Meg Mondoņedo
Letting a hundred flowers bloom
As deputy director general for research at the International Rice Research Institute, Ren Wang was instrumental in elevating both international partnerships and research capacity
By Duncan Macintosh
Pushing things forward
Agricultural economist Mahabub Hossain retires from international work to pursue his dream for his home country of Bangladesh.
By Meg Mondoņedo
The quiet achiever Recently retired rice scientist Vethaiya Balasubramanian has spent his life helping people--and he's not going to let retirement stop him by Trina Leah Mendoza
Steinbeck and a calling Noel Magor’s focus on marginal farmers
in Bangladesh derives from his childhood
on a modest Australian farm, his
experience of famine in Ethiopia, and
a classic tale of dust bowl America by Rebecca Khelseau-Carskby
All in the genes Like the plants they produce, plant breeders seem to be strong, healthy, and
productive. Thailand’s renowned rice breeder Surapong Sarkarung confirms
that it takes more than retirement to keep a good breeder down by Bob Hill
A hybrid pioneer Over the past 3 decades,
Sant Singh Virmani — the
man who put hybrid rice
on the map in tropical
Asia — fought a winning
battle to help feed the
hungry and poor by Adam Barclay and Samjhana Shrestha
A tale of a Texas farm boy Ronald P. Cantrell, the Texas farm boy made good, heads home after more
than 6 years at the helm of the International Rice Research Institute by Leharne Fountain
The tao of Tom Ronald P. Cantrell, the Texas farm boy made good, heads home after more than 6 years at the helm of the International Rice Research Institute by Leharne Fountain
Jay Maclean, a freelance writer, information specialist, and musician, was struck by the cover photo in the April-June 2007 issue of Rice Today, which depicts the Mekong River as it winds through northwestern Yunnan Province in China. He writes: I was sitting at my piano, looking at the cover, seeing the rugged landscape rolling down onto a narrow river, a temple, shoals and mud, nevertheless the same river that later calms down on its voyage through Cambodia and beyond. So, I began to play an impression of the scene. It came together quite quickly and after an hour I had a piece that runs for nearly 4-1/2 minutes. I added a bass line and some percussion to enhance the mood. He calls it, naturally, River of Rice (Š Jay Maclean 2007).
