Wolf Prize Recipients in Agriculture

(1978-2004)



1978 GEORGE F. SPRAGUE, University of Illinois, Urbana , U.S.A., for his outstanding research on the genetic amelioration of maize for human welfare; and JOHN C. WALKER, University of Wisconsin, Madison, U.S.A., for his research in plant pathology, developing of disease-resistant varieties of major food plants.  

1979

JAY L. LUSH, Iowa State University, Ames, U.S.A. ,for his outstanding and pioneering contributions to the application of genetics to livestock improvement; and Sir KENNETH BLAXTER, Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, U.K., for his fundamental contributions to the science and practice of ruminant nutrition and livestock production.

1980

KARL MARAMOROSCH, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, U.S.A., for his pioneering and wide-ranging studies on interactions between insects and disease agents in plants.

1981

JOHN O. ALMQUIST, Pennsylvania State University, U.S.A., for his significant contributions to the application of artificial insemination to livestock improvement; HENRY A. LARDY, University of Wisconsin, Madison, U.S.A., for his pioneering research on storage and preservation of spermatozoa thus enabling artificial insemination to become a universal practice; and GLENN W. SALISBURY, University of Illinois, Urbana, U.S.A., for his outstanding achievements in basic and applied research on artificial insemination.

1982

WENDELL L. ROELOFS, Cornell University, Geneva, N.Y., U.S.A., for his fundamental chemical and biological research on pheromones and their practical use in insect control.

1983/4

DON KIRKHAM, Iowa State University, Ames, U.S.A. and CORNELIS T. De WIT, Agricultural University, Wageningen, Netherlands, for their innovative contributions to the quantitative understanding of soil-water and other environmental interactions influencing crop growth and yield.

1984/5

ROBERT H. BURRIS, University of Wisconsin, Madison, U.S.A., for his pioneering fundamental research on the mechanisms of biological nitrogen fixation and its application in crop production.

1986

Sir RALPH RILEY, Agricultural and Food Research Council, London, U.K. and ERNEST R. SEARS, University of Missouri, Columbia, U.S.A., for their fundamental research in cytogenetics of wheat, providing the basis for genetic improvement of cereal grains.

1987

THEODOR O. DIENER, Plant Protection Institute, USDA, Beltsville, U.S.A., for his discovery and pioneering fundamental research on viroids and his applied work on viroid detection in crops.

1988

CHARLES THIBAULT, Universite de Paris VI, Paris, France, and ERNEST JOHN CHRISTOPHER POLGE, Biotechnology Cambridge Ltd., Cambridge, U.K., for pioneering work in reproductive physiology including cell preservation, fertilization processes, egg biology and embryo manipulations for domestic animal improvement.

1989

PETER M. BIGGS, AFRC Institute for Animal Health, Huntingdon, U.K., and MICHAEL ELLIOTT, AFRC Institute of Arable Crops Research, Rothamsted, U.K., for distinguished contributions to basic science and its successful translation into practice in the fields of animal health and crop protection.

1990

JOZEF STEFAAN SCHELL, Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding, Cologne, W.Germany, for his pioneering work in genetic transformation of plants, thereby opening up new horizons in basic plant science and breeding.

1991

SHANG-FA YANG, University of California, Davis, U.S.A., for his remarkable contributions to the understanding of the mechanism of biosynthesis, mode of action and applications of the plant hormone, Ethylene.

1992

Not awarded

1993

JOHN E. CASIDA, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A., for his pioneering studies on the mode of action of insecticides, design of safer pesticides and contributions to the understanding of nerve and muscle function in insects.

1994/5

CARL B. HUFFAKER, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.; and PERRY L. ADKISSON, TEXAS A&M University College Station, Texas, U.S.A., for their contributions to the development and implementation of environmentally beneficial integrated pest management systems for the protection of agricultural crops.

1995/6

MORRIS SCHNITZER, Centre for Land and Biological Resources Research, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Canada, and FRANK J. STEVENSON, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, U.S.A., for their pioneering contributions to our understanding of the chemistry of soil organic matter and its application to agriculture.

1996/7

NEAL L. FIRST, University of Wisconsin, Department of Animal Sciences, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A., for his pioneering research in the reproductive biology of livestock.

1998

ILAN CHET, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel, and BALDUR R. STEFANSSON , University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada , for their contributionsto the environmentally safe development of world agriculture through innovative approaches in breeding and bio-control.

1999

Not awarded.

2000

GURDEV S. KHUSH, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Makati City, Philippines, for his extraordinary contribution to theoretical research in plant genetics, evolution and breeding especially of rice, with regard to food production and alleviation of hunger.

2001

ROGER N. BEACHY, Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri, USA; and JAMES E. WOMACK, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA, for the use of recombinant DNA technology, to revolutionize plant and animal sciences, paving the way for applications to neighboring fields.

2002/3

R. MICHAEL ROBERTS, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Missouri,Columbia,Missouri,and FULLER W. BAZER,Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA,for discoveries of Interferon-t and other pregnancy-associated proteins, which clarified the biological mystery of signaling between embryo and mother to maintain pregnancy, with profound effects on the efficiency of animal production systems, as well as human health and well-being.

2004

YUAN  LONGPING, China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center, Mapoling, Hunan Province, China; and STEVEN D. TANKSLEY, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA, for innovative development of hybrid rice and discovery of the genetic basis of heterosis in this important food staple.

 


Source: The Wolf Foundation