Standing on the shoulder of giants

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Google Scholar has always had this quote on its website. It resonates with me because my scientific work builds upon the products developed by scientists before me. This is why I still marvel at the impact of Miracle Rice (IR8) in preventing widespread hunger in Asia, and wonder if the work I previously did in improving rice quality made a dent in rice breeding pipelines. My contributions in developing the gastronomic systems research framework, such as the Robinsons Mall auctions (Quezon City, Philippines) and the expert elicitation workshops (Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, India), helped shape the consumer research angle currently being pursued by IRRI, particularly for gauging the market acceptability of rice varieties that can potentially curb the risk of developing diabetes. My work in applying machine learning tools to classify rice into quality types is five years ahead of its time; I now see more people using big data approaches to answer increasingly complicated questions in rice science.

So, guess who was starstruck to be in the same room at UC Davis as a former IRRI Director General (Dr Robert Zeigler), the developer of Miracle Rice (Dr Gurdev Singh Khush), the discoverer of IR8's high-yielding capacity through agronomic practices (Dr SK de Datta), and the developer of flood-tolerant rice (Dr Dave Mackill), plus former IRRI scientists whose works help shape IRRI's current methodologies and research areas. We joined them for dinner at the International Hall after a meeting of the Global Rice Research Foundation. This organisation grants travel and research scholarships for students who commit to the importance of food security, food culture, and land conservation.



Certainly, it wasn't Val. He is so used to having dinner at IRRI's Staff Housing and Guesthouse with the likes of the people we were sharing a meal with. He views them as colleagues, friends, and neighbours. He has seen some of their children grow into adulthood. In fact, he was the reason we were there in the first place. One of his students is a grant recipient, and if our Saturday afternoon schedule had worked out, Val would have participated in the meeting.

Indeed, it wasn't Donan. He was just having dinner with Mama and Papa in a restaurant, watching and listening to a bunch of strangers. 

Yes, it was me. I felt like I was having a shawarma moment with real-life superheroes. Not the ones who wear capes and have flashy superpowers; I was sharing a meal with people who have saved (and are still saving) millions from starvation and death through improved agricultural resources and management. My contribution to rice research is puny compared to theirs (and has probably already become a fading memory in the institute's annals). And to many of them, I am but the spouse of one of their colleagues. However, the work I do now keeps communities (including them and their families) safe from infectious diseases, enabling them to do the big jobs they are doing for the world. 

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