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CAST Lifetime Achievement Award

Presentation during the CAST Awards ceremony at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

October 22, 2025 • 7:00 a.m. CT • Des Moines, Iowa

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Registration is now open — limited spaces available.
Award Overview

The CAST Lifetime Achievement Award (CLAA) is CAST’s award for career-long impact, recognizing individuals whose sustained contributions have advanced agricultural science, science communication, or science-based leadership in food, agriculture, and the environment.

The CLAA completes CAST’s awards continuum—alongside the Borlaug CAST Communication Award (mid-career) and the CAST Science Communication Scholarship (students)—spotlighting leaders at every stage who connect agricultural science, communication, and impact.

The award was established in 2025 and presented inaugurally to Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia and President Emeritus of the World Food Prize Foundation, in recognition of his six decades of leadership in diplomacy, agricultural development, and global food security.

The 2026 award will be presented at the CAST Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, December 10, 2026, at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.—a date chosen to mark the anniversary of Dr. Norman Borlaug’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.
Nomination Process

The CAST Lifetime Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has made sustained, career-long contributions to agricultural science, science communication, or science-based leadership in food, agriculture, and the environment.

Primary consideration will be given to candidates who:

  • Have demonstrated a career-long record of advancing agricultural science, its communication, or its application to public policy and societal benefit;
  • Have made significant contributions to their field at the national or international level; and
  • Have helped connect agricultural science to policymakers, the public, or the next generation of leaders in food and agriculture.

Other points of consideration include the following:

  • The award may be given for a specific body of work or for a lifetime of contributions across multiple roles and disciplines.
  • Consideration will be given to achievements across all disciplines related to agricultural, environmental, and food science, including research, education, policy, communication, diplomacy, and leadership.
  • Candidates must be living persons.
  • Individuals from all nations are eligible to receive the award.
  • Nominations are eligible and encouraged for candidates regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, veteran status, disability, and age.
  • Self-nominations are not accepted.

  • Nominations are welcome and encouraged from anyone in the agricultural, environmental, and food science community; there are no restrictions on who may nominate.
  • CAST’s Board and staff may also put forward candidates directly.
  • A separate nomination form must be used for each nominee.

(a) Complete the nomination form and submit all materials before the deadline. You will receive a confirmation email upon submission. If you do not receive one, contact Carlos Back Vianna, CAST Director of Marketing & Communications, at cvianna@cast-science.org.

(b) The primary nominator should submit all components together through the nomination form: the completed form, CV or biography, written statement, and letters of support (maximum 5).

(c) The letter from the primary nominator should be extensive:

  1. Describe the candidate’s career arc, accomplishments, and qualifications for a lifetime achievement honor.
  2. If you have personal, direct experience with the candidate, describe it.
  3. Provide specific examples of impact — research milestones, policy influence, public engagement, leadership roles, or other measurable contributions.
  4. Include links to notable publications, presentations, media appearances, or other evidence of career impact, where available.

(d) Provide a current CV or professional biography and a written statement of career accomplishments, as described in the Nominations section.

(e) Support letters:

  1. Letters must be addressed to: CAST Lifetime Achievement Award Selection Committee.
  2. Collect support letters from your references and upload them as PDFs through the nomination form — do not have writers send letters directly to CAST.
  3. Support letters should be on letterhead; contain personal reflections on the candidate’s career contributions and character; address the lasting impact of their work; and preferably be one page in length (no longer than two pages).

(f) Letter writers should represent a variety of organizations or perspectives to offer a well-rounded view of the candidate’s career and contributions.

(g) The submission deadline is midnight CST on July 31, 2026.

Completed nomination packets must include the following:

  1. The completed nomination form;
  2. A curated curriculum vitae or professional biography of the nominee (maximum 5 pages);
  3. A written statement of the candidate’s career contributions and their significance to agricultural science, communication, or leadership — including a summary of key roles, publications, initiatives, or public engagement activities over the course of their career;
  4. A maximum of five (5) letters of support in PDF form in which the references speak to the candidate’s career impact and qualifications. The nominator may be included as one of the five references.
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2025 Inaugural Recipient

The inaugural CAST Lifetime Achievement Award was presented in 2025 to Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, former U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia and President Emeritus of the World Food Prize Foundation, in recognition of his six decades of leadership in diplomacy, agricultural development, and global food security.

"From my very first Foreign Service assignment introducing IR8 ‘miracle rice’ in the Mekong Delta in 1968, to my leadership of the World Food Prize Foundation, agricultural science and technology have been the constant thread in my work. This award affirms the theme that has guided my life: peace through agricultural science and technology."

Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn
Learn more about Ambassador Quinn →
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Key Dates
  • Nominations Open: June 8, 2026
  • Submission Deadline: July 31, 2026 (midnight CST)
  • Winner Announcement: By September 30, 2026
  • Award Ceremony: December 10, 2026, 6 p.m. ET — Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (the anniversary of Dr. Norman Borlaug’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance in 1970)
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CAST Awards Ecosystem

CAST recognizes excellence across career stages:

  • CAST Science Communication Scholarship (Students)

  • Borlaug CAST Communication Award (Mid-career)

  • CAST Lifetime Achievement Award (Career-long impact)

Note: Details on the Washington, DC scholarship presentation and BCCA activities will be announced separately.

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