John S. Niederhauser Student Travel Fund

This award was established to support student travel to annual meetings of The American Phytopathological Society

Dr. John S. Niederhauser was born on September 27, 1916 in Seattle, Washington. He graduated from Palo Alto Union High School in California, and then attended Deep Spring College (California) from 1933-35, the Timuryazev All-Union Agricultural Academy in Moscow, USSR (1935-36) and received his B.S. in 1939 and his Ph.D. in plant pathology in 1943 from Cornell University at Ithaca, NY. Dr. Herbert H. Whetzel served as his major professor. After a year as a plant pathologist with the USDA in Washington, D.C., Dr. Niederhauser returned in 1945 to Cornell as an assistant professor of plant pathology.

After leaving Cornell, he served with the International Agricultural Programs of the Rockefeller Foundation from 1947-1972 in Mexico. During that time, he served in a variety of capacities but primarily focused on potato improvement. In 1971, he was the 
co-founder of the International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima, Peru, although he continued to reside in Mexico during his work with that Center until 1980, when he retired. During his many years as researcher and teacher, Dr. Niederhauser traveled extensively through out the world; since 1981, he has served as a consultant with Rockefeller Foundation, International Potato Center, PRECODEPA, US-AID, Winrock, and other national and international agencies involved in international development. Since 1985, he has been an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona. He resides in Tucson, Arizona and continues to be active in a variety of programs.

Dr. Niederhauser has received a large number of honors and awards with the most visible one being the 1990 World Food Prize in recognition of his work with national programs that have dramatically increased potato production in many Third World countries. This prize was founded in 1986 by Dr. Norman Borlaug, the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner. It is given to an individual whose work has made a difference toward alleviating world hunger and malnutrition. Dr. and Mrs. Niederhauser donated $100,000 of the prize to establish the John and Ann Niederhauser Endowment (JANE) Fund within the APS Foundation. An annual competition is held for research proposals on potato late blight, and awards have been made in amounts ranging up to $10,000. The JANE Technical Committee selects the recipient and is comprised of three members selected by the Office of International Programs and approved by the APS Foundation Board.

In 1999, Dr. John and Ann Niederhauser designated that a portion of the earnings from the JANE Fund be used for a cash prize to accompany the International Service Award. The prize is $2,000 to the award recipient and $1,000 to an international program recommended by the recipient. The International Service Award was established by the APS Council in 1998 to recognize outstanding contributions to plant pathology by APS members for a country other than his or her own. The recipient of this award is selected by the APS Awards and Honors Committee, and the first cash prize was made at the 2000 APS Annual Meeting. 

Dr. Niederhauser attributes much of his success as a scientist to his wife, Ann Faber Niederhauser. When he received the World Food Prize on October 17, 1990, at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., an excerpt from his comments included these about Ann: “...And I wish to call your attention at this time to one very special person who has been a constant source of support and encouragement during my career. Not only has she traveled with me all over the world and shared the satisfaction of cooperating with our colleagues in so many countries, but she has created the home and family that have made my life so wonderful. Those of you who know her are aware of how vital she has been to whatever might have been accomplished.” The Niederhausers have seven children and twelve grandchildren. Following a lengthy illness, Mrs. Niederhauser passed away on March 1, 2000. Donations in her memory were directed to the JANE Fund. Together, John and Ann have devoted their lives, in an effort providing more food for the world, while preserving the quality of the environment. An excellent review of “International Cooperation in Potato Research and Development” was authored by Dr. Niederhauser and appears in Annual Review of Phytopathology. (1993. 31:1-21).