Writer: Kathleen Phillips, (979) 845-2872, ka-phillips@tamu.edu
Contact: Dr. Richard Frederiksen, (979) 845-1227, r-frederiksen@tamu.edu
COLLEGE STATION — Richard Frederiksen of College Station received the Jakob Eriksson Prize for 1998 at the recent Seventh International Congress of Plant Pathology at Edinburgh, Scotland. Frederiksen is a professor of plant pathology at Texas A&M University.
He was cited for his promotion of plant pathology internationally, especially for his early research on a serious epidemic of downy mildew of Texas sorghum. Through that work, Frederiksen with his colleagues and several graduate students developed successful management programs to control the disease in sorghum and corn.
His name appears on more than 100 journal articles and he has edited several books. Frederiksen has organized conferences and workshops around the world and is a fellow of the American Phytopathological Society.
The citation notes Frederiksen’s “original and outstanding research on sorghum plant diseases…and his interest in the education of future generations of plant pathologists.”
Frederiksen is a native of Renville, Minn. He obtained his doctorate degree in plant pathology and plant genetics in 1961 from the University of Minnesota.
The award is named after Jakob Eriksson, a Swedish plant pathologist noted for being a leader in his profession to share knowledge worldwide for the interests of science and humankind. Eriksson wrote in four languages, published a series of plant pathology papers beginning in 1890, and produced a textbook on Fungus Diseases of Plants in Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry which began the standard of the discipline.
The prize was established in his honor in 1923 to encourage the creative study of plant pathogens and the processes of disease development in plants. It is administered through the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm and consists of a gold medal minted by the Royal Swedish Mint, embossed with Eriksson’s portrait and engraved with the winner’s name.
Since 1930, the prize has been awarded only eight times. Frederiksen is the third recipient from the United States.
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