International Alumni Award

2010-11 International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement

Dr. Bir Bahadur Singh, ms ’65 aces, phd ’67 aces, is an internationally renowned crop scientist and educator whose development of improved varieties and sustainable cropping systems has enhanced food security, family nutrition and income generation for millions of farmers in Asia and Africa. Dr. Singh started the first soybean breeding program in India, where his work catalyzed an increase of soybean production from 5,000 tons in 1968 to 10 million tons by 2009. As a plant breeder, Singh produced numerous early-maturing and disease-resistant varieties of a high protein legume, the cowpea: 40 of these improved varieties have been released in more than 60 countries. He also developed a farmer-to-farmer community-based seed production and sale system that helped increase global cowpea production from 1.2 million tons in 1981 to more than 6.3 million tons in 2009. Dr. Singh has published more than 225 research papers, travels throughout the world as a lecturer and consultant, and has received numerous honors, including the coveted CGIAR Outstanding Senior Scientist Award in 2006. He currently serves as a visiting professor of plant breeding and genetics at G.B. Pant University, Pantnagar, India, and teaches and conducts research at Texas A & M University.

Nominate international alumni for this award:

Past recipients

2009
Rafael Correa Delgado, ms ’99 las, phd ’01 las

2008
Bo Zhang, MS '92 ACES, PHD '99 ACES

2007
Kandeh K. Yumkella, PHD ’91 ACES

2006
Sophie Lau Leung ’69 LAS

2005
Barry McGaw, PHD ’72 ED

2004
Emil Quinto Javier, MS ’64 ACES

2003
Ashok S. Ganguly, MS '59 ACES, PHD '61 ACES

2002
Atef M. Ebeid, PHD ’62 BUS

2001
Nobuko Matsubara, MA ’69 LIR