The award is named for a true pioneer in the biotechnology field, and it will be handed out by a group touted to be the “champion of biotechnology” to someone who makes the most significant contribution in the field of biotechnology.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) is now accepting nominations for the annual George Washington Carver Award and will present it at the 2009 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, to be held July 19-22, 2009 in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, said, “We are honoring George Washington Carver because he was one of the founding fathers of modern industrial biotechnology. Today, his legacy lives on in industrial biotechnology companies that are developing new methods to use renewable agricultural resources to manufacture fuels, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and food ingredients, just as Carver did during the first half of the 20th century. Science has developed in ways that Carver may never have imagined, but the work remains true to his goal – a sustainable agricultural economy that includes production of useful everyday products.”
BIO is now accepting nominations for the George Washington Carver Award online at https://www.surveymonkey.coms.aspx?sm=zHj_2bEVxeMcJzE4A7hmZCqw_3d_3d. Nominees must be living individuals who have demonstrated significant and innovative accomplishments employing industrial biotechnology to advance a biobased economy and industrial sustainability. Written nominations should highlight the contributions the nominee has made in using biotechnology for sustainable production of biobased products, materials and energy. In addition, nominations should include examples of the pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of the nominee. The deadline for nominations is May 10, 2009.
It only makes sense that an organization such as BIO would name its award after such a visionary as George Washington Carver along with a scholarship given in the name of the recipient. As you might already know, Carver and his students are known for their innovative uses for farm products, finding more than 300 industrial uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and other crops that could be grown in rotation with cotton and corn. Glues, plastics, paints, soap… you name it, Carver came up with a use for it… truly a pioneer in the sustainability field.
For more information on BIO’s Carver Award, click here and make plans to attend the Sixth Annual World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology & Bioprocessing, July 19-22, 2009 in Montreal, Canada.