Yesterday evening (June 11), Seed World in partnership with the Future Seed Executives of the American Seed Trade Association recognized Qingli Liu of Syngenta as the 2018 Future Giant of the seed industry award winner.
The award, given each year, was presented during a reception at ASTA’s inaugural Policy and Leadership Development Conference (PLDC), held June 9-13 in Washington, D.C. The Future Giant award is designed to recognize an individual who demonstrates excellence in their niche and shows a commitment to the seed industry.
Nominees are evaluated by an expert panel on their leadership, commitment to the industry, academic or job performance and accomplishments and contributions, explained Seed World Editor Julie Deering, who presented the award.
“Our panel had a tough job, as the top three finalists were very competitive and all very deserving of the award,” Deering added.
Liu, who is based in Cary, North Carolina, serves as the project lead for soybean and sunflower disease control. Having earned his doctorate in 2005, he is already an award-winning scientist and has been recognized by the Society of Nematology and the American Phytopathology Society.
For Syngenta, most recently he’s been working to bring broad resistance to Asian Soybean Rust into many of the company’s soybean lines, but that’s not necessarily what makes Liu unique according to his supervisor.
“The reason I am nominating him for this award rather than a scientific award is the leadership he has brought to this project and his ability to draw resources from all over the globe and across many different disciplines to bring about rapid success,” wrote Joseph Watts, Syngenta Crop Protection senior team leader, in his nomination letter of Liu. “It is rare to make a major scientific discovery, but it is even rarer to drive that discovery forward into a viable product to solve an unmet need in the world.”
For more on the award winner, be sure to check out the September issue of Seed World magazine, and congratulations to Qingli Liu and Syngenta!
