2010 News

Dr. Cary Fowler ’71, who leads a global effort to ensure that agriculture’s crop varieties are ready and adapted to climate change and variability, is one of nine environmental innovators to receive the prestigious Heinz Award. Presented annually by the Heinz Family Foundation, the award honors the late U.S. Senator John Heinz’s long-standing commitment to the environment.

Fowler is being acknowledged for his vision and efforts in the preservation of the food supply for future generations. He has created the Global Seed Vault which now holds one-third of the world’s seed varieties and is instrumental to protecting crops against potential challenges of the future.

“At a time of massive environmental change, it is an absolute necessity to preserve the world’s crop biodiversity. Lack of crop diversity threatens the world’s basic food security, and it is highly significant that we work to strengthen inventories of plant genetic resources,” says Fowler whose career in the conservation and use of crop diversity spans more than 30 years.

Fowler, who grew up in Memphis, currently lives in Rome. The Heinz Awards will be presented at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on November 15.

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