News section
home news forum careers events suppliers solutions markets resources directories advertise contacts search site plan
 
.
Monsanto announces Franz Innovation Award Scholarship

.

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.

 

 

 

 

The news item on this page is copyright by the organization where it originated - Fair use notice

Other news from this source


Copyright © SeedQuest - All rights reserved