A $2 million gift in tribute to Nobel laureate and Texas A&M faculty member Dr. Norman Borlaug will help build on his legacy of using agricultural technology to improve lives on a global scale.

By Helen White

Far-reaching scientific advances are often the result of collaboration among creative minds from both academics and industry, each bringing a different perspective to finding solutions and making discoveries.

Monsanto, an agricultural company known for innovation in crop improvement through plant breeding and biotechnology, maintains an active partnership and funds significant endowments with Texas A&M University because of its reputation as a leading agricultural research institution and its outstanding plant breeding and cotton improvement programs.

"Every day, scientists at Monsanto are working to discover and bring to market new technologies that can advance U.S. agriculture," said Dr. Robb Fraley, chief technology officer for Monsanto Company, "But we recognize that we aren’t the only ones doing important research out there. It requires countless researchers working in their areas of expertise to continue to drive innovation in this area, and funding critical research at universities benefits everyone."

Considered the father of the Green Revolution, Dr. Norman Borlaug, is known worldwide for his research in developing high-yielding wheat varieties that helped prevent hunger throughout the world and saved billions of lives. For his extraordinary achievements, the distinguished professor of international agriculture at Texas A&M University has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Congressional Gold Medal among numerous other honors.

"Borlaug taught the world how to use agricultural technology to save lives and improve living conditions," said Fraley. "Plant breeding was the engine for this tremendous change.

In tribute to Dr. Borlaug’s work in plant breeding and in support of the ongoing work of future faculty, Monsanto recently created the $2 million Borlaug-Monsanto Chair in Plant Breeding and International Crop Improvement. It also created a $500,000 Borlaug-Monsanto Graduate Assistantship to support graduate students studying cotton crop improvement and production.

"Many great ideas emanate from universities and our company has demonstrated that it can translate great ideas into technologies that create value for our customers and shareholders," said Fraley. "Accordingly, we are always looking to participate in creative research and educational partnerships with universities."

Through the Borlaug-Monsanto Chair in Plant Improvement and International Crop Improvement, Texas A&M and Monsanto will work together to build on Dr. Borlaug’s legacy of using agricultural technology to improve lives on a global scale.

"Scientific advancement, in agriculture and in other fields, requires multiple breakthroughs on multiple fronts to ultimately benefit everyone," said Fraley. "Our knowledge today builds on centuries of increasing scientific understanding, and we never know from where the next great breakthrough will come. But by increasing the opportunity for scientific advancement through endowments like this, we are boosting our chances of making the world a better place for generations to come."

This is an excerpt from the article "Searching for the Next Great Breakthrough" from the fall 2007 issue of Spirit magazine. Visit our publications archive .to read the full article and issue of the magazine.

To learn how you can support ground-breaking research at Texas A&M, contact Carl Jaedicke ’73 at (800) 392-3310 or amfoundation@tamu.edu.