Rudy Rabbinge was appointed as Chair of the Science Council in 2007. Rudy holds a number of private sector, civil service and academic responsibilities: Senator, in National Parliament of the Netherlands for the Social Democratic Party; Chairman, Agribusiness North Netherlands (three Northern provinces of the Netherlands); Chairman/ director, Transition Sustainable Agriculture; Chairman, Inter-Academy Council, taskforce on food security and agricultural productivity in Africa (on request by Secretary General UN); Co-chairman, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and Millennium Development Goals; University Professor for Sustainable development and systems innovation; Dean, Wageningen Graduate Schools; Chairman, Earth and Life Sciences (National Science Foundation); Rudy has degrees in Phytopathology, Entomology, Theoretical Production Ecology, Philosophy of Science. His PhD thesis was on Biological control of fruit tree red spider mite. Email
Derek Byerlee, from Australia has wide experience in agricultural research and rural development, having lived more than 20 years in Asia, Latin America, and Africa in a variety of posts. Most recently he has been Rural Strategy Adviser in the Agricultural and Rural Development Department of the World Bank, and Lead Economist for the Agricultural and Rural Development in the Country Office for Ethiopia and Sudan, based in Addis Ababa. Before joining the Bank he was Director of Economics at the International maize and Wheat Improvement Center, Mexico, and Associate Professor, Michigan State University, USA. He has published widely in several fields of agricultural development. Derek Byerlee joined the Science Council (Chair of SPIA) as of 1 September 2008. Email
Gebisa Ejeta, a native of Ethiopia, holds the position of Distinguished Professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Purdue University, USA. He has had continuing association with the CGIAR system over the years. He started his professional career as a Principal Plant Breeder at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) stationed in Sudan (1979-83), and has since served as a member and chair of various review panels. At Purdue, Gebisa has led an interdisciplinary sorghum research contributing to the increased understanding of the genetics and physiology of major biotic and abiotic stresses afflicting the crop. He has studied and promoted biodiversity having facilitated and catalyzed effective exchange and use of sorghum germplasm resources globally. Gebisa has also made significant contributions to the theoretical understanding of factors influencing in vitro protein digestibility of cereals as well as host-parasite biology in crop plants. He is an advocate for crop science and plant genetics as effective tools for resolving food production problems in developing countries. He has contributed to international development through institutional and human capacity building, the breeding, release, and deployment of sorghum cultivars with resistance to drought and parasitic weeds, as well as through the development of seed programs in several African countries. Gebisa received his PhD and MSc in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Purdue University and BSc in Plant Science from Alemaya College, Ethiopia. Email
Ken is an Adjunct Professor, University of Queensland and lives in Brisbane, Australia since 2000. Ken had a long distinguished service in the CGIAR. He began as a post doc at CIMMYT in 1973 and remained on the staff until 1983. He was Deputy Director General – Research at the International Institute Tropical Agriculture ( IITA) from 1987 – 1991, at the international Rice Research Institute (IRRI) from 1991- 1999 and later as interim DDG research at the World Fish Center for a short period. He was Senior Lecturer, Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland (1983 –87). His research focus is on adaptation of crops to rainfed systems and pioneered the breeding of drought tolerance maize at CIMMYT and has recently co- authored a manual on breeding for drought tolerance in rice. He has worked directly with National program in Asia in their improvement of maize and rice based systems. He has advanced new concepts for the management of IP of public sector research systems with a focus on the role of the public sector in functional genomics in rice and on ways they can use their biological assets in trait discovery and access to modern science.
He is a member of various professional societies and author/co-author of over 40 agricultural publications. Ken has a Ph.D., M. Agr. Sc. and B. Agr. Sc. from the University of Queensland, Australia. Email
It is with great regret that we report the death of Mike Gale FRS on Saturday 18th July 2009. He had been a CGIAR Science Council member since 2004. Please see http://www.jic.ac.uk/staff/mike-gale/.
Hans Herren has been a member of the SC since 2007. He is the President of the Millennium Institute (MI), a non-profit organization developing integrated models based on system dynamics to support national planning and development processes, Washington DC. Before joining the MI, Hans was Chief Executive and Director General, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (1994-2005); Director Plant Health Management Division (1992 -94) and Director, Biological Control Program(1979 -91), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria.
Hans has won a number of honors including: Elected member, Third World Academy of Science (2004); Honorary Professor, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, PRC; Tyler Prize, The World Prize for Environmental Achievement; Doctor es Science Honoris Causa, Kennyata University, Nairobi, Kenya; Laureate of the World Food Prize; Kilby Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Society through Science; President of the International Association Plant of Protection Sciences; Editor in Chief of the International Journal Insect Science and its Application1994-2005; President, the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences (IAPPS); Co-Chair, the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development IAASTD; Member, International Scientific Advisory Board of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland. Hans has M.S. in Agric. Sciences (Crop Protection and Plant Breeding) and a Ph.D. in Biological Control of the Larch Bud Moth from the Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland. Email
Beatriz is a Rice Physiologist working in Embrapa. Short CV will be posted soon. Email
Jeffrey Sayer is British national and joined the Science Council in 2008. He has been a Science adviser to the IUCN Forest Conservation Programme since February 2007, providing strategic guidance on issues relating to large scale conservation and development initiatives – especially landscape approaches and other aspects of multi-functional forest land use. Prior to that he was Senior Associate and Science Advisor –WWF International, Gland Switzerland, heavily involved in conservation programmes in Africa and Asia but with a global overview of conservation issues. He was also the founding director general of the Center for international forestry Research. His professional expertise focuses on the science underlying natural resource management, ecosystem and landscape approaches and reconciling conservation and development. He has at various times been a member or office holder of several international and national organizations concerned with nature conservation, forestry and resource management, including Membership of scientific advisory committee to the UK Department of the Environment. Jeff was a member of the advisory committee on environment and climate change for the EU 7th Framework research. Jeffrey has published several books and a number of scientific papers and technical reports. Jeff has a DSc in Ecological Sciences from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, MSc in Natural Resources Conservation from University College London, UK and a BSc in Zoology and Botany from the University of Hull, UK. Email
| 
