University of Alberta Awards Honorary Doctorate to India's Swaminathan

Eminent agriculture scientist Dr. M.S. Swaminathan will be bestowed with an honorary doctorate of science degree by University of Alberta on October 7, 2010. He will deliver the Bentley Lecture in Sustainable Agriculture/Lester Pearson Memorial Lecture on the same day and will speak on "Food Safety and Security in an Era of Climate Change."

Dr. Swaminathan led a global movement in sustainable food security and recognizing his contribution and efforts over the last 50 years, University Chancellor Linda Hughes said his "legacy reminds all of us of the power of one person to uplift an entire society." Known as the "Father of the Green Revolution", he is known for his leadership and success in introducing and developing high-yielding varieties of wheat in India. As head of the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines for seven years, Dr. Swaminathan and his colleagues then used the same techniques to modify rice seeds with similar results. He has been called by the United Nations Environment Programme as "the father of economic ecology."

For more information contact Bev Betkowski at bev.betkowski@ualberta.ca or visit http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/en/NewsReleases/2010/08/Fatherofeconomicecologytoreceive
UofAhonorarydegree.aspx