Norman Ernest Borlaug was an Iowa farm boy who changed the world we live in. He was educated here at the University of Minnesota for his undergraduate, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees. He eventually ended up in Mexico on the Rockefeller Foundation’s “Mexican Project,” where he applied the methods he learned with Professor Stakman here at Minnesota. In Mexico he developed disease resistant high yielding semi-dwarf wheat varieties that helped the country become self-sufficient and eventually a wheat exporter in only a few years. Recognizing the potential of these varieties he worked to also get them implemented in Pakistan and India where the impact was even greater. Some estimates believe his efforts saved over a billion lives. Known as “the Father of the Green Revolution,” he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to world peace through improved food security and went on to help establish the World Food Prize.