Honors & Awards

Chris Somerville

CHRIS R. SOMERVILLE, professor of biological sciences and director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Plant Biology at Stanford, is co-recipient of the 2006 Plant Molecular Genetics Award presented by the International Balzan Foundation in Milan, Italy. He shares the $810,000 prize with Elliot M. Meyerowitz of the California Institute of Technology. The prize committee recognized Somerville and Meyerowitz "for their joint efforts in establishing Arabidopsis as a model organism for plant molecular genetics." Winners are required to use half of their prize money to fund research projects by young scholars or scientists in their field. Four prizes, two in the humanities and two in the sciences, are awarded annually to individuals who have earned international distinction in their field. Prize winners are chosen by a committee representing several European cultural institutions. The awards are designed to promote culture, science, peace and humanity worldwide. The president of the Italian Republic will present the awards on Nov. 24 at a ceremony in Rome.