Updated at 8:29 a.m., Thursday, October 4, 2007
Hawaii scientist to be honored by alma mater
Advertiser Staff
Dennis Gonsalves, director of a U.S. Department of Agriculture research center in Hawaii and leader of a team of scientists whose efforts helped preserve papaya cultivation on the Big Island and elsewhere around the world, is being honored Oct. 12 with an Award of Distinction from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.The award is presented annually to a handful of recipients whose contributions and achievements enrich the image and reputation of the college and enhance its ability to provide public service. The awards are presented during the annual "College Celebration" and include seven individuals in 2007 – alumni, supporters, faculty and staff. Gonsalves will receive recognition among "outstanding alumni."
Gonsalves heads up the ARS-USDA Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Hilo, Hawaii. He led a successful effort to develop and commercialize the first genetically engineered fruit crop, papaya, that literally saved the $47 million papaya industry in Hawaii, a news release from UC Davis said.
The UC Davis alumnus previously was the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Plant Pathology at Cornell University in New York. Gonsalves trained 19 Ph.D. scientists, published 290 research papers, and holds 24 patents.
