Professor Joseph H Hulse, Canadian biochemist and one of the world's leading experts in biotechnology, has thanked India for honouring him with the Padma Shri.
Hulse, who received the Padma Shri at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, said: "It is a great honour for a Canadian citizen to receive this prestigious honour."
Hulse, former vice-president of Canada's International Development Research Centre and former scientific advisor to the United Nations Secretary General, has devoted his life to research on food, nutrition and food security and written many acclaimed books and papers on the subject, the Indian high commission said in a statement.
Hulse helped in the establishment of the International Food Technology Training and Research Centre, Mysore, in 1962.
He played a catalytic role in inspiring a cooperative programme that brings together several Indian NGOs, industries and the Central Food Technological Research Institute in Mysore, the collective purpose being to alleviate chronic malnutrition among poor rural children.
In 2006, Prof Hulse was elected Fellow for Life of India's National Academy of Sciences. To date, he remains the only non-Indian to have received the Conservation of the Environment Award presented by Rotary Clubs and the Earthcare Society of India.
He is currently a visiting Professor at the CFTRI in Mysore and the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in Tamil Nadu, besides being the honorary fellow of a number of international organisations.
