Significant Dates in IRRI History

March

1 March: 1993, IRRN name change: the “N” now stands for “Notes”; 2006, new IRRI copy center opens replacing the old analogue IRRI print shop.

2 March: 1976, IRRI holds its first official Employees Recognition Day.

3 March: 2004, IRRI holds two special days to celebrate the International Year of Rice 2004: the Araw ng Magsasaka (Farmers' Day) on and International Day (4 March) for ambassadors and donor representatives.

5 March: 1970, with a devaluation of the peso against the dollar, national staff go on a 1-day strike to request a salary increase and to be paid in dollars. A modest salary increase is granted, but not the request to be paid in dollars.

8 March: 1960, IRRI’s Articles of Incorporation are approved by the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission; 2001, Gurdev Khush (photo), IRRI principal plant breeder, is among Chinese and foreign scientists to be named a recipient of The China International Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award for 2001.

9 March: 1995, Gurdev Khush, IRRI principal plant breeder, is elected Fellow of the Royal Society (London).

10 March: 1996, the Philippine Cabinet of President Fidel V. Ramos meets at IRRI.

11 March: 2004, Glenn B. Gregorio, international research fellow in the Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biochemistry Division, receives the 2004 Achievement Award for Crop Science Research from the Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP).

12 March: 1977, Forrest F. Hill Laboratory (now housing Administrative offices) is formally dedicated; 1988, T.T. Chang, IRRI principal scientist, and with P.R. Jennings, former IRRI rice breeder, share the Rank Prize for Agronomy and Nutrition; 2007, in a special dedication ceremony, IRRI's Genetic Resources Center is named in memory of  Te-Tzu (T.T.) Chang, who passed away 24 March 2006. Click here to access a video of the dedication ceremony.

13 March: 1978, Li Hsien-nien, vice premier of the People’s Republic of China, visits IRRI.

15 March: 2004, IRRI stalwarts Tom Mew and Sant Virmani are ap-pointed principal scientists in recog-nition of their many years of contributions to the Institute pathology and breeding, respectively.

18 March: 2002, Calvin Qualset, director of the Genetic Resources Conservation Program at the University of California-Davis and IRRI BOT member, receives the 2002 Charles A. Black Award for his life's work in germplasm preservation and enhancement.

20 March: 1996, the IRRI Library launches its automated catalogue.

21 March: 2005, Robert S. Zeigler (photo) arrives as the eighth director general of IRRI.

23 March: 1999, IRRI’s first director general (1960-71), Robert F. Chandler, passes away in Florida; 2005, IRRI awards a plaque of honor to the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) to recognize its partnership and outstanding contribution to food security and health of the people of Bangladesh for more than three decades.

24 March: 2004, Richard Flavell, chair of IRRI’s External Program and Management Review (EPMR) panel, urged all staff to "celebrate" the Institute's achievements and to be proud to work at such an important and successful organization; 2006, Te-Tzu (T.T.) Chang (photo), 79, passes away in Taiwan. He was IRRI’s principal geneticist for more than 30 years and head of the International Rice Germplasm Center when he retired in December 1991.

26 March: 2006, the Chinese minister of agriculture Qinglin Du visits IRRI. 2007, more than 80 scientists from 14 countries in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America attend an international workshop on Cool Rice for a Warmer World held at the Crop Physiology and Production Center (CPPC), College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU), Wuhan, Hubei, China. The workshop is sponsored by IRRI and HZAU, with partial financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China

30 March: 2003, K.L. Heong of the Entomology and Plant Pathology Division is the recipient of the 2003 Charles A. Black Award for his contributions to the advancement of science in the public policy arena.