Leading academic and scientist Patricia Berjak, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, has been awarded the President's Lifetime Achievement Award for 2008.
The award goes to South Africans who have made "outstandingly extraordinary contributions to the development of science in and for South Africa".
The contributions must be of international standard and impact.
Berjack has an international reputation for work on the biology of recalcitrant seeds and the conservation of the genetic resources of such species.
She has received several awards for her pioneering work, including the 2004 Distinguished Woman Scientist award, the 2006 Gold Medal of the South African Association of Botanists and the National Order of Mapungubwe in Silver.
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Berjak has been studying recalcitrant seeds for more than 30 years.
She said the award was a remarkable tribute.
"However, my type of science can never be a solo effort. One must always be aware of the step-wise contributions made to the whole picture by my research group and by my long-term major collaborator, Professor Norman Pammenter," she said.
Berjak leads a team of researchers at the university's school of biological and conservation sciences.
Previous President's Lifetime Achievement Award winners include Reinhardt Arndt in 2004, Es'kia Mphahlele in 2005, Bob Brain in 2006 and Mamphela Ramphele in 2007.
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This article was originally published on page 4 of The Mercury on August 04, 2008
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