RNC Laboratory Head Tomoko Abe was recently presented with the SCJ President Award, one of the 7th Industry-Academia-Government Collaboration Contribution Awards, for her work on plant breeding using heavy ion beam irradiation. She shares the award with Dr. Nobuhisa Fukunishi, Laboratory Head, RNC Beam Dynamics & Diagnostics Team, Design to Cost Engineering Headquarters, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, and Mr. Kenichi Suzuki, SUNTORY Flowers Ltd.

A presentation ceremony was held in Kyoto on June 12.

Reference:
http://www.congre.co.jp/sangakukan/top.html (in Japanese only)

Employment

1988	JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientist, Institute of Genetic Ecology, Tohoku University
1990	Science and Technology Agency, Special Postdoctoral Fellow, Chemical Regulation of Biomechanisms Laboratory, RIKEN
1991	Research Scientist, Chemical Regulation of Biomechanisms Laboratory, RIKEN
1998	Senior Research Scientist, Plant Functions Laboratory, RIKEN
2005	Senior Research Scientist, Accelerator Applications Research Group, RIKEN
2006	Deputy Laboratory Head, Radiation Biology Team, RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science
2008	Laboratory Head, Radiation Biology Team, RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science

Honors

1994	The Japanese Society for Chemical Regulation of Plants Award for Young Scientists
2002	Japanese Society for Plant Cell and Molecular Biology Award for Technical Advance
2004	Japanese Society for DNA Polymorphism Research Award
2005	Japanese Society for DNA Polymorphism Research Award
2007	2007 Prizes for Science and Technology (Development Category), Commendation for Science and Technology by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
2007	Invention Encouragement Prize, FY 2007 Kanto Local Commendation for Invention

The presentation ceremony

Left to right: Dr. Nobuhisa Fukunishi, Dr. Tomoko Abe and Mr. Ken-ichi Suzuki

Dr. Tomoko Abe explains development of Verbena hybrida to Seiko Noda, Minister of State
for Science and Technology Policy