Professor HUANG Jikun, director of Center for Chinese Agricultural Policy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, received the 2010 International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) Outstanding Alumni Award. The award was presented to celebrate IRRI’ 50th anniversary on 10 November, 2010 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

This award is established to acknowledge the contributions of alumni who conducted research at IRRI as part of their graduate degree program. The 2010 four awardees were selected on the basis of their significant contributions across rice research, extension, policy, and research management to advance IRRI’s mission to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure the environmental sustainability of rice production.

In presenting the award to Professor Huang, Dr. Robert S. Zeigler, Director General of IRRI, said: “Dr. Jikun Huang is one of the most well-known agricultural economists in the world…His publications have been widely cited in international journals. His work also influenced China’ s agricultural policy and development, including China’s rice policy…”

Professor Huang was a PhD scholar in the Agricultural Economics Department at IRRI from 1987 to 1990 while studying at the University of the Philippines at Los Banos (UPLB). He also received the UPLB Distinguished Alumni Award during celebration of UPLB’s 100th anniversary in 2008.