News Release

1999 Tyler Prize Honors Rice Geneticist And Population Scientist

Grant and Award Announcement

University of Southern California

LOS ANGELES, March 5, 1999 - Two scientists who have made monumental contributions to solving the related problems of food production and distribution, and understanding the dynamics of population growth have been awarded the 1999 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.

Te-Tzu (T.T.) Chang of Taiwan and Joel E. Cohen of the United States will share a cash prize of $200,000 and receive gold Tyler Prize medallions at a black-tie awards ceremony on April 16 in Los Angeles.

T.T. Chang, Ph.D., age 71, is the world authority on rice genetics and conservation. His research on the evolution and variation of rice has led to major advances in plant breeding, productivity, and disease resistance with a profound impact on agriculture productivity throughout much of Asia, Africa, and South America. Before his retirement in 1993, Chang was principal geneticist of the International Rice Research Institute.

Joel E. Cohen, Ph.D., age 55, is the Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of Populations at The Rockefeller University and Professor of Populations at Columbia University, both in New York. He has made important contributions to the understanding of food webs in natural and human-made ecosystems and developed realistic, unbiased models of population growth and the carrying capacity of the earth.

"Their work in agriculture and conservation, and the demands that growing populations bring to bear on them, spans basic scientific and practical applications with a lasting impact on both," said Robert P. Sullivan, Ph.D., chair of the 11-member Tyler Prize Executive Committee, which annually selects the Tyler Prize recipients.

The Tyler Prize is administered by the University of Southern California. For more information visit the Tyler Prize home page at www.usc.edu/tylerprize.

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