Agency doctorates

Mr. Wen-chuan Li of China has become the first student to obtain a doctor's degree as a result of research work carried out in the Agency. Mr. Li, who is 33, graduated as a Bachelor of Agriculture at Taiwan Provincial Chung-hsing University in 1960 and in 1966 was granted a fellowship to study mutations in plant breeding at the Agency's Seibersdorf Laboratory near Vienna, under the direction of Dr. Knut Mikaelsen, a professor of the University of Bergen. The Hochschule fur Bodenkultur of Vienna accepted the research as being suitable for a thesis and have now granted the degree of Doctor of Agriculture. The subject of the thesis was modifying factors influencing the mutagenic effects of alkylating agents as compared with ionizing radiations in barley. Alkylating agents are involved in the use of chemicals as a means of changing the characteristics of seeds to bring about changes aimed at improving the quality of crops. Mr. Li's work is regarded as a significant contribution to the understanding of the mechanics by which mutations are induced, to the efficient use of chemicals and ionizing radiations in practical applications, and to the efforts of the Agency in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization to benefit food supplies. Mr. Li has now completed his fellowship with the Agency and has been appointed an Assistant Professor in Plant Breeding at Taiwan Provincial Chung-hsing University. The photograph, taken in the plastic hot house at Seibersdorf, shows him studying rice plants grown from seeds subjected to irradiation. Another noteworthy achievement is that of Mr. Karl-Franz Lacina, a security guard at the Agency's headquarters. At the age of 50 he has been accorded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Vienna University, the result of six years' work in his leisure time. The major subject was Arabic, with French and philosophy as supporting subject. (author)