Western Australia
February 18, 2009
Pioneering PhD research at
The University of Western
Australia not only helped launch a major Australian export
industry, it also won the researcher a prestigious award in
India recently.
Professor Kadambot Siddique, Chair in Agriculture and Director
of UWA’s Institute of Agriculture, was presented with a gold
medal last week from the Indian Society of Pulse Research and
Development by Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a former President of
India, at the Indian Institute of Pulses Research in Kanpur.
Pulses – chickpeas, faba beans, field peas, lentils and other
legumes grown for human consumption – are an important source of
protein in the diets of many people around the world. Besides
lowering the risk of heart-disease, eating pulses also lessens
the likelihood of developing type-two diabetes and obesity.
Pulses also significantly contribute to sustainable farming
systems through their rotational cropping benefits.
Professor Siddique began exploring the potential of chickpea
adaptation when, after beginning agricultural studies in India,
he started postgraduate work at UWA in 1981.
His work was the starting point for the Australian chickpea
industry, now valued at more than $200 million annually. It also
created research links that tie UWA to Turkey, Bangladesh, East
Timor, Iraq, Oman, China, India, the US and Canada.
Professor Siddique said he was delighted to receive the award
from Dr Abdul Kalam, an aeronautics engineer who has been
awarded honorary doctorates at 30 universities. Known as ‘the
People’s President’, he was India’s 11th President, from 2002 –
2007.
“I am humbled and honoured to receive this award,” Professor
Siddique said. “It also recognises the important contributions
made by a team of scientists and postgraduate students with whom
I have had the privilege to work and collaborate.” |
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