New Zealand Bio Scientist Nominated For World Technology Award.
“The Most Innovative Work of the Greatest Likely Long-Term Significance”
NEW YORK, NY – Thursday, October 10, 2013 – The World Technology Network (The WTN) announced today that New Zealand
scientist Nathan Balasingham has been nominated for a prestigious 2013 World Technology Award in the Individual
Biotechnology category.
The event has been described as the ultimate global platform to honour visionary contributions in science and technology
and Nathan Balasingham joins an exclusive club of global corporations and scientists who are deemed by members of the
WTN to be doing the “most innovative work of the greatest likely long term significance”.
The World Technology Awards have been presented annually since 2000, as a way to honor those in 20 different categories
of science and technology, and related fields. Nominees for the 2013 World Technology Awards were selected by the WTN
membership (spread over 60 countries) through an intensive, global process lasting many months.
Nathan Balasingham has spent the last 40 years as an entrepreneurial scientist, inventing, amongst other things, the
iconic fruit tonic Kiwi Crush, and making some outstanding contributions to the development of New Zealand’s kiwifruit
industry. His revolutionary phytogenic elicitors Agrizest and Biozest are in the forefront of the fight to manage the
current PSA pandemic, which has decimated the kiwifruit industry over the past three years.
However Nathan’s real focus is on finding urgent, sustainable revolutionary solutions to improve the productivity and
nutritional value of food, to avert an impending global food crisis.
From his base at Pukekohe Nathan Balasingham said he was honoured to be elected as an Associate of the world Technology
Network, which gives him direct access to the most innovative scientists and technologists around the world.
“For the Agrizest and Biozest technology to be peer reviewed and nominated by this global community of people in science
and technology is priceless” he said.
Founder and Chairman of the World Technology Network, James P Clark, said “The World Technology Awards program is not
only a very inspiring way to identify and honor the most innovative people and organizations in the technology world,
but it also is a truly disciplined way for the WTN membership to identify those who will formally join them as part of
our global community.
“By working to make useful connections among our members, we look forward to assisting Nathan Balasingham in continuing
to help create our collective future and change our world." He said.
The winners of the 2013 World Technology Awards will be announced during a ceremony at the historic Time-Life Building
in New York City on the evening of November 15th at the close of the 12th Annual World Technology Summit on November
14/15, and presented by the WTN in association with TIME magazine, Fortune, CNN, Science/AAAS, and others.
About Nathan Balasingham
Nathan Balasingham graduated from Massey University with a Masters Degree in Horticultural Science with 1st class
honours. He is an entrepreneurial scientist with 40 years product and market development success.
Nathan has made some outstanding contributions to the development of the kiwifruit industry. In the late 70’s he
researched and registered several pesticides specifically for use on kiwifruit. In 1983 he initiated the transformation
of the kiwifruit industry from exporter controlled to grower controlled management body. In the mid 80’s Nathan was
involved in research on Bacterial Bud Rot.
He is the inventor of Kiwi Crush, the award winning iconic kiwifruit drink., and, perhaps most significantly, the
inventor of the phytogenic elicitor Agrizest, now an important part of the management of the PSA disease in New Zealand
and Italian kiwifruit orchards, and which ultimately is expected to have a large impact on sustainable global
agricultural productivity.
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