Prof. Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra Awarded $100K NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences

Originally posted by Academic Affairs, The California Aggie, FFAR, and News from CBS

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has awarded Dr. Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra of the University of California, Davis, $100K for the 2024 NAS Prize in Food & Agriculture Sciences. This award is for pioneering studies on the evolutionary genetics of maize, a key crop species for global food production, to advance our understanding of the evolution of all crops.

The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Prize in Food & Agriculture Sciences in 2017. 

The award recognizes extraordinary contributions to agriculture and understanding the biology of species important to food and agriculture production. The NAS Prize elevates food and agriculture research and highlights the critical need for scientists working toward more productive, sustainable agriculture.

The prize recognizes mid-career scientists at US institutions working in scientific fields applicable to agriculture, including plant and animal sciences, microbiology, nutrition and food science, soil science, entomology, veterinary medicine, and agricultural economics.

Annually, we award the prize to one recipient, who receives a medal and a $100,000 cash award.

Dr. Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, Professor of Evolution and Ecology in the College of Biological Sciences, is an internationally recognized plant evolutionary geneticist whose research focuses on the genomic analysis and evolution of maize and related plant species. Beyond his significant contribution to basic science, his laboratory addresses challenges from transposable element evolution to the genetics of quantitative traits, maize and human coevolution, domestication, and local adaptation. His studies of maize and related uncultivated plants illustrate the extensive impact of changing genomic diversity in maize and demonstrate the value of genomic approaches in forecasting crop performance.

To read more about Dr. Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and his research click here

To read more about the NAS Prize in Food & Agriculture Sciences click here