NEWS RELEASE
Date: 15 February 2008
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Chief Scientific Advisor at Defra receives international science award
Professor Robert Watson, Chief Scientific Advisor at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has been named as winner of the 2007 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) International Scientific Cooperation Award.
He was cited for his outstanding contributions to promoting international scientific cooperation in scientific research, communication and training and his work on environmental and sustainable development.
Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment said:
“We are very proud to have such a world class scientist working at Defra. I am delighted that Bob Watson has been recognised for his outstanding body of work on an international level. He has made an enormous contribution to the understanding of some of the biggest challenges facing the world today and continues to bring scientists from all over the world together to find answers.”
Professor Watson said:
“It’s an honour to receive such an award. I am delighted that the work of thousands of scientists working together on issues of development and environmental sustainability is taken so seriously. With international cooperation we can address issues such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, water resources and the sustainable production of food on a global scale, but there is much to do. I am very grateful to receive such recognition from my peers.”
Established in 1992, the AAAS Award for International Scientific Cooperation recognizes an individual or a limited number of individuals for making extraordinary contributions to further international cooperation in science and engineering.
Notes to editors
1.Prof Watson is a pioneering climate scientist and is best known internationally for his role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), where he served as chairman from 1997 to 2002. IPCC reports and assessments have changed the way the world looks at climate change and have led to important policy changes on local, regional, national and international levels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Watson is also chair of environmental science and science director of the Tyndall Centre at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.
2. Professor Watson receives a commemorative plaque and a monetary prize of $5,000 on 16 February at the 2008 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston.
3. Watson received his bachelor’s and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from London University. He did postdoctoral studies at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Maryland and held a variety of positions at NASA from 1980 to June 1993 before joining the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in July 1993. Watson is the 1993 recipient of the AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility.
4. From 1996 to 2007, Watson held various roles at the World Bank, including service as chief scientist and director for environmentally and socially sustainable development. He led the effort to revitalize support for science in the Bank’s program. In line with the Bank’s goal to help countries alleviate poverty and attain sustainability, Watson’s efforts helped strengthen science in developing nations and enhance collaborative activities with other international scientists.
5. Watson’s expertise includes managing and coordinating national and international environmental and research programs, establishing scientific and environmental policies and communicating scientific, technical and economic information to policymakers. As associate director for international activities in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from July 1993 to April 1996, Watson encouraged the U.S. government to increase its support for international scientific cooperation. Vice President Al Gore described Watson as his “hero of the planet” in a letter written to Watson’s former boss, White House science adviser John H. Gibbons.
6. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science (www.sciencemag.org). AAAS was founded in 1848, and serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, reaching 10 million individuals.
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Page published: 15 February 2008