Khush’s work in developing high-yielding varieties of rice is credited in helping Southeast Asia avoid famine and land degradation in the 1960s.
WHAT: Texas Tech University Department of Plant and Soil Science Seminar Series featuring Gurdev S. Khush.
WHEN: 4 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 29)
WHERE: Hall of Nations, International Cultural Center, 601 Indiana Ave.
EVENT: Gurdev S. Khush, an adjunct professor of plant sciences at the University of California-Davis, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the Royal Society of London, will deliver a colloquium lecture at the Department of Plant and Soil Science at Texas Tech.
An internationally renowned geneticist and plant breeder whose work ensured the stability of the global rice supply, Khush will discuss, "Food Security for Ten Billion People: Perspectives from the Architect of the First Green Revolution in Rice."
Khush is credited with the development of semi-dwarf, high-yielding varieties of rice and, in the 1980s, pioneered the use of modern biotechnological approaches in rice breeding. That led to a 30-year period in which food production was doubled and helped prevent famine and land degradation as the world population exploded in the 1960s.
After joining the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 1967, Khush played a key role in developing more than 300 varieties of rice in the race to keep production ahead of population growth. He has spent more than 30 years directing both fundamental and applied-genetic research and the delivery of rice varieties to underserved populations. His body of work earned the World Food Prize in 1996 and the Japan Food Price in 1987.
He led the Division of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biochemistry during his tenure at IRRI. He also is a recipient of the prestigious Wolf Prize from Israel and Rank Prize from the United Kingdom.
The Department of Plant and Soil Science is part of the College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources at Texas Tech.
CONTACT: Jacobo Sanchez, graduate assistant, Department of Plant and Soil Science, College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University, (806) 252-3001 or jacobo.sanchez@ttu.edu
