On June 11th, the Asahi Glass Foundation announced that IES Director Dr. Gene E. Likens was a co-recipient of the 2003 Blue Planet Prize for outstanding scientific research that helps to solve global environmental problems. Dr. Likens was awarded the distinction along with Dr. F. Herbert Bormann, his long-time collaborator at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire.
The Blue Planet Prize recognizes the role that Drs. Likens and Bormann have played in understanding human impacts on ecosystems and informing national decisions regarding the management of air, land, and water resources. As part of his research at Hubbard Brook, Dr. Likens identified the relationship between fossil fuel use and acid rain in North America. He contributed critical data to the U.S. Congress for the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments.
The Blue Plant Prize is an international environmental award sponsored by the Asahi Glass Foundation, chaired by Hiromichi Seya. Two Blue Planet prizes are awarded annually to individuals or organizations that make scientific discoveries that help solve global environmental problems. Dr. Vo Quy (Vietnam) was the other recipient of the Blue Planet Prize for his key role in conserving and restoring Vietnam's war-damaged environment and initiating community-based conservation projects.
This is the 12th year the Blue Planet Prize has been awarded. Past recipients prize have included Dr. Paul R. Ehrlich (Director of the Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University) and Dr. Theo Colburn (World Wildlife Fund). An awards ceremony will be held on October 22, 2003, at the Akasaka Prince Hotel in Tokyo. Commemorative lectures by the prize recipients will be held at the United Nations University the next day.
The Asahi Glass Foundation press release may be viewed on the Internet at: www.af-info.or.jp.