Three UF faculty members win international research awards

May 9, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Three University of Florida faculty members are among 52 recipients worldwide of Alexander von Humboldt Research Awards.

UF, along with Cornell University, took home more awards than any other university in 15 countries this year. UF’s winners are P.K. Nair, distinguished professor of agroforestry in UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences; Ken Wagener, chemistry professor; and Tony Ladd, professor of chemical engineering.

The Humboldt Prize is Germany’s highest research honor and includes awards up to $80,000. The Humboldt Foundation is a nonprofit foundation established by the Federal Republic of Germany for the promotion of international research cooperation. It enables highly qualified scholars to spend extended periods of research in Germany and promotes international scientific cooperation. The awards are provided on the basis of nominations by eminent German scholars because direct applications from outside Germany are not accepted.

Nair has a doctoral degree in agronomy from Pantnagar Agricultural University, India, and a doctor of science in agriculture from Goettingen University, Germany. Wagener has a doctoral degree in chemistry from UF. Ladd earned his doctoral degree in theoretical chemistry from the University of Cambridge in England.

The professors received the awards in a ceremony in Bamberg, Germany, on March 23.