Gurdev Singh Khush (born August 22, 1935) is an

Agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

and

Geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

who, along with mentor

Henry Beachell Henry Monroe "Hank" Beachell (September 21, 1906 – December 13, 2006) was an American plant breeder. His research led to the development of hybrid rice cultivars that saved millions of people around the world from starvation. Born in Waver ...

, received the 1996

World Food Prize The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nor ...

for his achievements in enlarging and improving the global supply of rice during a time of exponential population growth.

Education

He graduated with a B.Sc. from

Punjab Agricultural University The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is a public funded agricultural university located in Ludhiana district of Punjab. It is a state agricultural university in India. It was established in 1962 and is the nation's third-oldest agricultura ...

in 1955 and Ph.D. from the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

(UC Davis) in 1960.

Career

After serving as a faculty member of the University of California (UC) for seven years studying the tomato genome, he joined the

International Rice Research Institute The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is an international agricultural research and training organization with its headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna, in the Philippines, and offices in seventeen countries. IRRI is known for its wor ...

(IRRI) in the Philippines as Plant Breeder. He was appointed a Head of the Plant Breeding Department in 1972 where, in pursuit of ever-improved rice varieties to nourish the growing developing world and support its agricultural economies, he spent over twenty years directing and participating in genetic research and breeding. During that time he played a key role in the development of more than 300 innovative rice strains such as

Semi-dwarf IR36 Dwarfing is a process in which a breed of animals or cultivar of plants is changed to become significantly smaller than standard members of their species. The effect can be induced through human intervention or non-human processes, and can include ...

. World rice production increased from 257 million tons in 1966 to 626 million tons in 2006. He retired from IRRI in February 2002 as Principal Plant Breeder and Head of Division of Plant Breeding Genetics and Biochemistry and returned to UC Davis as adjunct professor. He also served on the Life Sciences jury for the

Infosys Prize The Infosys Prize is an annual award given to scientists, researchers, engineers and social scientists of Indian origin (not necessarily born in India) by the Infosys Science Foundation and ranks among the highest monetary awards in India to re ...

in 2010.

Honours and awards

Khush has earned many awards, including the

Borlaug Award The Borlaug Award is an award recognition conferred by a fertilizer company, Coromandel International, for outstanding Indian scientists for their research and contributions in the field of agriculture and environment. The award was created in 1 ...

(1977), the

Japan Prize is awarded to people from all parts of the world whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind." The P ...

(1987), the

(1996),

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

(2000) and the

Wolf Prize in Agriculture The Wolf Prize in Agriculture is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and the Arts. The ...

(2000). He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1995 and by the

National Academy of Agricultural Sciences The National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) is a Government of India funded agency, established in 1990, is a research platform in the fields of crop husbandry, animal husbandry, fisheries and agro-forestry. It acts as a research base for ...

as their foreign fellow in 1991.

Notable publications

References

Indian agronomists 1935 births Living people Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the Royal Society Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Wolf Prize in Agriculture laureates British geneticists Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Fellows of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences University of California, Davis alumni {{Geneticist-stub