St. Louis, Missouri
October 11, 2007
Scholarship celebrates Roundup
brand herbicides and Dr. John Franz's induction into National
Inventors Hall Of Fame
Monsanto today announced the creation of an annual
scholarship to celebrate the invention of glyphosate, the active
ingredient in Roundup brand herbicides, and to commemorate the
induction of Dr. John Franz into the National Inventor's Hall of
Fame.
Monsanto has created an endowment in Dr. Franz's name, which
will allow the Monsanto Franz Innovation Award to be awarded
annually to a graduate student in organic chemistry at the
University of Minnesota, where Franz received his PhD. The first
recipient of the award is Elena Sizova, a fourth year graduate
student in organic chemistry.
"Dr. Franz's discovery helped build a product that served as the
backbone for Monsanto's development into an agricultural
company, and we're honored to celebrate that discovery more than
30 years later with this scholarship and endowment," said Sherri
Brown, Monsanto's chemistry lead. "His discovery was pivotal in
the history of agriculture, and we hope this scholarship will
provide future scientists similar opportunities for innovation
and advancement in agriculture and chemistry."
Franz was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame® in
Akron, Ohio on May 5th, which honors the women and men
responsible for the great technological advances that make
human, social and economic progress possible. He joined the
inventors of the steam engine, radio, frozen food, antibiotics,
genetic engineering as well as agricultural innovators such as
George Washington Carver, John Deere, and Eli Whitney, who were
previously inducted to the Hall of Fame.
"I'm very honored and excited that this scholarship will help
students and future scientists with their education at my Alma
Matter, and that it will help the University of Minnesota
continue to recruit quality students," said Franz. "I'm also
pleased that this endowment will go on in perpetuity, providing
an opportunity to grow in value and continue to provide
assistance for students in the future."
"I feel very privileged to be a recipient of the Franz
Innovation Award Scholarship," said Sizova. "The award
strengthens my interests to do research in organic chemistry,
which I believe is one of the most important sciences. I would
like to thank Monsanto Company for this unique opportunity and
making my experience as a graduate student even more exciting
and motivating."
Agricultural innovations such as Roundup herbicides improve the
quality of life for all of society. Roundup brand herbicides
have reached farther than just the farm. They are used in homes,
gardens, zoos, golf courses, conservation areas, and habitat
restoration projects, protecting sensitive areas from invasive
weed species. Roundup agricultural herbicides allow farmers to
produce abundant, healthy food while stewarding the environment
and consumer formulations enable homeowners to maintain healthy
and attractive gardens. Monsanto's glyphosate products are
registered in more than 130 countries and are approved for weed
control in more than 100 crops.
No other herbicide's active ingredient compares in terms of
number of approved uses.
Franz was born in Springfield, Illinois. He received his B.S.
and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Illinois and the
University of Minnesota. Franz is a Distinguished Fellow and the
recipient of the first Queeny Award, Monsanto's highest
technical award given in recognition of invention of
significant, proprietary technology that resulted in commercial
success. He was also awarded the National Medal of Technology in
1987 and the Perkin Medal in 1990. He holds over 840 U.S. and
foreign patents.
For more information on the Franz Scholarship, please visit
http://www.monsanto.com/features/john_franz.asp
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality. |
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