Print This PageMonsanto Announces Franz Innovation Award Scholarship
Celebrates Roundup and Franz's induction into National Inventors Hall of Fame
Monsanto has created an annual scholarship to celebrate the invention of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® brand herbicides, and to commemorate the induction of Dr. John Franz into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame.
Monsanto has created an endowment in Dr. Franz’s name, which will allow the Monsanto Franz Innovation Award to be awarded annually to a graduate student in organic chemistry at the University of Minnesota, where Franz received his PhD. The first recipient of the award is Elena Sizova, a fourth year graduate student in organic chemistry.
“Dr. Franz’s discovery helped build a product that served as the backbone for Monsanto’s development into an agricultural company, and we’re honored to celebrate that discovery more than 30 years later with this scholarship and endowment,” said Sherri Brown, Monsanto’s chemistry lead. “His discovery was pivotal in the history of agriculture, and we hope this scholarship will provide future scientists similar opportunities for innovation and advancement in agriculture and chemistry.”
CEO Hugh Grant and Dr. John Franz
Franz was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame® in Akron, Ohio on May 5th.
“I’m very honored and excited that this scholarship will help students and future scientists with their education at my Alma Matter, and that it will help the University of Minnesota continue to recruit quality students,” said Franz. “I’m also pleased that this endowment will go on in perpetuity, providing an opportunity to grow in value and continue to provide assistance for students in the future.”
“I feel very privileged to be a recipient of the Franz Innovation Award Scholarship,” said Sizova. “The award strengthens my interests to do research in organic chemistry, which I believe is one of the most important sciences. I would like to thank Monsanto Company for this unique opportunity and making my experience as a graduate student even more exciting and motivating,”
* Video courtesy of the National Inventors Hall of Fame
