Wilfried Werner

Prof. Wilfried Werner was nominated for the 1998 Award, which is for researchers in developed countries, by an IFA's member company BASF AG. The assessments were made by a panel of nine eminent scientists.

The Award honours Professor Werner for a career dedicated to fundamental and applied research in the field of soil fertility and plant nutrition. He started his research career in 1958 in the fertilizer industry at the Buntehof Agricultural Experimental Station and, from 1963 to 1982, he headed the Kali-Chemie Agricultural Experimental Station in Germany. In 1983, he was appointed Professor of Plant Nutrition and Director of the Institute for Agricultural Chemistry, University of Bonn, where he headed investigations into the extent and consequences of nutrient losses from agriculture to ground and surface water. In this field he has the respect of both the farming and the water supply authorities. Since 1996 he has been Emeritus Professor at the Institute.