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Award Recipient
Support of Entrepreneurship
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
The founding board members of the Donald Danforth Plant Science
Center were honored with the 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of
The Year Award for Support of Entrepreneurship.
The award focused on the individuals who have been at the forefront
of bringing the institution to St. Louis. The founding board members
are: Dr. Richard L. Wallace, chancellor, University of Missouri-Columbia;
Dr. Peter Raven, director, Missouri Botanical Garden; Hendrik A.
Verfaillie, president and chief executive officer, Monsanto Company;
and Dr. Mark S. Wrighton, chancellor and professor of chemistry,
Washington University. In addition to the founding board members,
Roger N. Beachy, Ph.D., president; and William H. Danforth, M.D.,
chairman of the board, were honored.
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a public-private partnership
joining the Missouri Botanical Garden, Monsanto Company, University
of Missouri-Columbia, Washington University, Purdue University,
and the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. The Danforth
Foundation and the State of Missouri provided additional support.
This fall, teams of scientists from around the world will move into
the 170,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building where they will
take up the challenge of feeding the hungry, fighting disease, eliminating
pest problems and sustaining the earth's resources.
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is devoted to world class
research. The founders knew from the start that products developed
from such research offered an opportunity for our region to be a
leader in the next generation of businesses arising from the biologic
sciences. Thanks to leadership and hard work of Verfaillie, Drs.
Raven, Wallace and Wrighton, and a number of others, the Danforth
Center is now established. "The RCGA and many community leaders
are working to provide the necessary infrastructure for commercial
development flowing from the plant and other life sciences," says
William H. Danforth, chairman, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center.
The Center's goal is to facilitate the rapid development and commercialization
of promising technologies and products. The NIDUS Center, located
on the campus of the Danforth Center, is the region's first business
incubator focused exclusively on the life sciences industry. During
the next 15 years, it is expected to generate $1.5 billion for the
regional economy. (back)
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