Sonora, by John Collier
The Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation, is presented every October in Des Moines, Iowa, by the World Food Prize Foundation.
This $10,000 award recognizes exceptional, science-based achievement in international agriculture and food production by an individual under the age of 40. Awardees emulate the same intellectual courage, stamina and determination in the fight to eliminate global hunger and poverty demonstrated by Dr. Norman Borlaug as a young scientist working in Mexico in the 1940s and '50s.
Dr. Judith Rodin, former President of The Rockefeller Foundation, announced during the 25th World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony in 2011 that her Foundation would commit $1 million to endow this annual award in honor of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, whose early work in Mexico was supported by The Rockefeller Foundation.
The award diploma incorporates the image of Dr. Borlaug at work in the fields of Mexico, as shown on the left. The image was created by artist John Collier and hangs as a tapestry in the Hall of Laureates.
The award presentation is appropriately held in the historically preserved and environmentally renovated World Food Prize Hall of Laureates. This $29.8 million project restored the century-old Des Moines Public Library and transformed it as a special tribute to Nobel Peace Prize winner and World Food Prize founder Dr. Borlaug.
The individuals chosen to be recipients of the Borlaug Field award are selected by an anonymous international jury, chaired by Dr. W. Ronnie Coffman of Cornell University. Dr. Coffman, who was Dr. Borlaug's only doctorate student, serves as a member of the World Food Prize Council of Advisors.
To learn more about the award and how to nominate a deserving individual, please visit this link. The deadline for nominations each year is June 15.