IRRI bids farewell to Bill Hardy and Fulin Qiu

(L-R) Bill Hardy, his wife Clara and daughter Sophie,
and CPS Head Gene Hettel

Last Friday (17 May) before a dinner at the Guesthouse, the IRRI community bade farewell to two departing staff members, Drs. Bill Hardy and Fulin Qiu.

In the first photo, Gene Hettel, CPS head (right), reminisces about the Hardy family's 15 years at IRRI (from left Bill, spouse Clara, and daughter Sophie).


Dr. Hardy has been a senior science editor and publisher in CPS since December 1997. He has tirelessly and vigorously contributed his editing talents to IRRI's scientific communication and public awareness efforts. He guaranteed an uncommon quality and accuracy in the vast array of information and communication products disseminated by the Institute to its donors, partners in national programs, and the general public. Unequaled within the CGIAR and even beyond, his impeccable body of work was amassed across an incredible 100,000+ pages, which were the core of more than 90 scientific books, 15 annual reports (8 being award winners), 38 issues of Rice Today magazine, hundreds of journal articles, and scores of other documents. His eagerness and desire to visit face-to-face with staff members to help them improve the quality of their book chapters and papers are legendary. His fervor to train and mentor budding NRS editors and writers has been deeply appreciated. His dedication and work ethic, coupled with his world-class editing skills, will be sorely missed. Watch a video clip featuring Bill's top 15 all-time humorous typos.

In the second photo, Fangming Xie, senior scientist and plant breeder (right), extols Dr. Qiu's hybrid research at the Institute.

Fulin Qiu and his project leader
at IRRI, Fangming Xie

Dr. Qiu has been a scientist, hybrid rice breeder in PBGB, 2010-2013. He has made outstanding contributions to IRRI's hybrid rice development program. During his 3 years at IRRI, he did extensive research in hybrid rice breeding on experimental design, field selection, and marker-assisted selection for developing hybrid rice parents with tolerance of stresses such as drought, submergence, and salinity. He played an important role in developing a pipeline for new hybrid rice breeding lines and hybrids. Those new breeding lines and parents developed using molecular markers and traditional breeding approaches are valuable genetic materials for hybrid rice development at IRRI and in the international hybrid rice community.

(Contributed by Gene Hettel, CPS)