Source(s):
P.K. Nair (352) 392-846-0880
Kenneth Buhr (352) 392-1823, ext. 211

GAINESVILLE—P.K. Nair, professor of agroforestry with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, will receive the International Agronomy Award from the American Society of Agronomy on November 8 in Minneapolis. The award recognizes outstanding international achievements in agronomy and related fields.

The award has been given since 1968 when Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug, father of the &quotGreen Revolution,” became the first recipient. Nair is the first UF faculty member to receive the award.

Nair, a professor in the UF’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation and an affiliate professor in the agronomy department, was nominated for the award because of his accomplishments in international agroforestry, extensive publications and leadership in educating UF students as well as professionals and scholars from abroad.

He was nominated for the award by UF agronomy Professor Kenneth Buhr, who described him as a &quotworld leader in agroforestry,” a field Nair pioneered by applying the science of agronomy to forestry.

&quotHe has made unparalleled contributions to the development of a new field of agronomy, and he continues to be in the forefront in research and education in his field,” Buhr wrote in his nomination of Nair.

&quotHis work has had significant impact, especially in the tropics, in enhancing the productivity and sustainability of small-holder farming systems, and training a cadre of more than 100 young professionals.”

Nair holds a doctorate from Pantnagar Agricultural University in India and a doctor of science degree from Goettingen University in Germany. His master’s and bachelor’s degrees are from Kerala Agricultural University, India. He also has been a post-doctoral soil scientist at Rothamsted Experiment Station in England.

He had a leading role in establishing the International Center for Research in Agroforestry in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1977. It is one of 16 international agricultural research centers worldwide.

Nair also had a leadership position at the research center through its first decade. While at ICRAF, he directed a global inventory of agroforestry systems and built a comprehensive database of international agroforestry for future research. He also established a field research station in agroforestry at Machakos, Kenya.

Nair joined the UF faculty in 1987. He established an interdisciplinary program in agroforestry that has earned UF top recognition in the field. Nair has supervised the graduate research of many students.

More than 80 professionals in agroforestry and related fields from 20 countries were trained at UF in his short courses, and a dozen scholars from Latin America, Europe and Asia have served their sabbaticals or faculty exchanges under Nair’s guidance.

Nair is editor-in-chief of Agroforestry Systems, a leading international scientific journal. He has published several books, book chapters and journal articles on agroforestry. In 1999, Nair was chosen as a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy.

-30-

0