Significant Dates in IRRI History

May

1 May: 1994, Rice is featured prominently in the May issue of National Geographic, featuring a significant portion of IRRI’s work; 2001, after nearly 10 years as head of IRRI’s Genetic Resources Center, Michael Jackson is named to the newly created management position of Director for Program Planning and Coordination (DPPC); 2003, editorial in the journal Nature (Volume 423 Number 6935) states that it is essential for financial support for IRRI to be mobilized.

2 May: 2005, IRRI is the first CGIAR center on the Access Grid (for multi-point videoconferencing) as a new 6-Mbps connection to the Asia Pacific Advanced Network is commissioned with a new "local loop" to the national termination point at the Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) at the University of the Philippines Diliman campus in Quezon City; 2007, the Temperate Rice Research Consortium (TRRC) is launched during an international planning workshop on temperate rice in Suwon, Republic of Korea; 2008, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (center in photo) visits IRRI to witness the signing of an MOA between IRRI (DG Robert Zeigler, left) and the country's Department of Agriculture (Secretary Arthur Yap, right). The agreement focuses on irrigation, technology, extension services, and credit support for farmers in the Philippines to address the ongoing rice crisis.

3 May: 2005, Vethaiya Balasubramanian, senior scientist, agronomy is named IRRI's Africa Coordinator.

4 May: 1980, B.S. Vergara, IRRI plant physiologist (at right in photo), receives the Philippine’s Pro Patria Medal.

5 May: 1982, IRRI cosponsors the first IARC book exhibition in China.

6 May: 1993, M. LaRue Pollard wins the 1993 International Award of Excellence from the Agricultural Communicators in Education (ACE) in the United States; 1994, the Friendship Order of the Vietnamese Government is awarded to IRRI during the Vietnam-IRRI Rice Conference.

7 May: 2003, Fazle Hasan Abed, member of the IRRI Board of Trustees and founder and chairperson of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), receives an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Manchester in the UK.

8 May: 2002, The University of London confers the Doctor of Science degree on K.L. Heong (photo) of the Entomology and Plant Pathology Division, the first such academic award to an IRRI scientist based on his or her research work at the Institute.

9 May: 2002, The collaboration of IRRI and the Visayas State College of Agriculture with Vietnam to persuade a million rice farmers in Asia to stop spraying harmful and unnecessary insecticides wins the 2002 St. Andrews Prize for the Environment (photo), the only international environmental prize in the UK; 2005, IRRI kicks off a 3-day workshop on Research Prioritization on Genetic Diversification to Sustain Rice Productivity with 70 participants from China, Vietnam, Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines; 2006, His Excellency Muhammad Naeem Khan, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, visits IRRI.

10 May: 1991, Fire breaks out and severely damages the 30-year-old Chandler Hall, which houses administration, the Library, and CPS; 2005, IRRI hosts a 3-day international workshop on Research Prioritization on Genetic Diversification to Sustain Rice Productivity.

13 May: 2003, Web site of the International Rice Functional Genomics Consortium (IRFGC) is launched.

14 May: 1990, The 2nd International Rice Genetics Symposium (Rice Genetics II) begins, attracting 300 scientists from 24 countries; 2007, an exciting new course at IRRI, Rice: research to production, kicks offs for its initial 3-week run to encourage some of the world’s best and brightest young scientists to consider careers helping developing nations, instead of taking jobs focused on the developed world. Twenty-six participants (photo) are from Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Rwanda, Thailand, UK, and USA.

18 May: 2008, Major article above the fold in the Sunday New York Times appears about the world's poor paying the price as crop research is cut. IRRI DG Robert Zeigler states that "Cutting back on agricultural research today is pure folly."

19 May: 1995, 1) IRRI is recognized as an international organization through an international agreement signed by Philippine President F.V. Ramos and representatives of 10 countries. 2) President Ramos confers the Golden Heart Presidential Award on K.J. Lampe, former IRRI director general.

24 May: 1971, IRRI announces the naming of its fifth variety, IR24.

25 May: 1987, IRRI and CIMMYT in Mexico jointly receive the USAID-US National Research Council Science and Technology Development Award; 2005, Environmental Radio Soap Opera for Rural Vietnam, an IRRI-Vietnam project wins a World Bank Development Marketplace Award. 2006, DG Robert Zeigler unveils to staff IRRI’s new, BOT-approved strategic plan, Bringing Hope, Improving Lives.

27 May: 1985, IRRI kicks off the first of four symposiums over the next 2 weeks to commemorate its 25th anniversary: the International Rice Genetics Symposium (IRGS), the International Rice Research Conference (IRRC), the 25th Anniversary Symposium, and the FAO International Rice Commission (IRC) meeting; 2003, IRRI agronomist Vethaiya Balasubramanian receives the 2003 International Fertilizer Association (IFA) International Award.

31 May: 1972, Chandler Hall (at the time housing Administrative offices, the Library, and Communication and Publications Services) is dedicated; 2005, Gene Hettel, head of Communication and Publications Services, receives the Service Award of the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE).