By:
Chuck Woods (352) 392-0400Source(s):
P.K. Nair pknair@ufl.edu, (352) 846-0880
Jimmy Cheek jgcheek@ufl.edu, (352) 392-1971
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — P.K. Nair, a distinguished professor of agroforestry at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, has been selected to receive the Humboldt Research Award – also known as the Humboldt Prize – which is Germany’s highest research award for senior scientists in the United States.
The award, including a 50,000 Euro stipend (about $60,000) for future research, will be presented to Nair later this year by the Alexander Humboldt Foundation in Bonn, Germany. He was nominated for the award by professional colleagues in Germany. Award winners are also invited to develop research projects of their own choice in Germany in cooperation with colleagues for periods between six months and one year.
The Humboldt Foundation is a nonprofit foundation established by the Federal Republic of Germany for the promotion of international research cooperation. It enables highly qualified scholars to spend extended periods of research in Germany and promotes international scientific cooperation.
Nair, who is also director of the Center for Subtropical Agroforestry in UF’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation, is an internationally recognized leader in agroforestry, said Jimmy Cheek, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources.
“P.K. Nair is largely responsible for the development of agroforestry as a scientific discipline by applying agronomic concepts and practices to forestry,” Cheek said. “This prestigious international award is another indication of the outstanding quality of our faculty.”
The UF agroforestry scientist is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2005 Scientific Achievement Award from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations, the 2004 Barrington Moore Memorial Award from the Society of American Foresters and the 2004 International Crop Science Award from the Crop Science Society of America.
The Crop Science Society of America is affiliated with the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy, both of which have previously named Nair a fellow, their highest recognition, and given him international service awards. He also is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In 2005, he was selected for the senior specialist award of the Fulbright Commission.
Nair has a doctoral degree in agronomy from Pantnagar Agricultural University, India, and a doctor of science in agriculture from Goettingen University, Germany. He received an honorary doctoral degree from Kyoto University, Japan in 2002 and the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana in 2005. In June 2006, he will receive an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada.
He was editor-in-chief of Agroforestry Systems from 1994 to 2005 and has served on the editorial board of Plant and Soil for six years. He served as chair of the Global Organizing Committee for the 1st World Congress of Agroforestry in Orlando in July 2004.
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