Global
Abdelaziz Lagnaoui
Dr. Abdelaziz Lagnaoui is a distinguished alumnus of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota. He received both his M.S. in 1990 and his Ph.D. in 1991 in Entomology from the University of Minnesota. He was a Linnaean Games Team Member representing the Department of Entomology at the Entomological Society of America conferences from 1986 through 1989. The team won in both 1986 and 1988.
Dr. Lagnaoui is currently Senior Pest Management Policy Adviser for the Quality Assurance and Compliance Unit of the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Group (ESSD) at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. In this capacity Dr. Lagnaoui works with some of the world's poorest countries on sustainable development by creating partnerships between the public, private, and non-governmental sectors.
In 1991, Dr. Lagnaoui went to work for the International Potato Center's (CIP) Regional Office for North Africa and the Middle East, based in Tunis. In this capacity he worked to develop collaboration between national programs in the region and took the lead in coordinating research activities. From 1997 to 2002, Dr. Lagnaoui was project leader for integrated pest management (IPM) for root and tuber crops at the CIP, based in Lima, Peru. In this position, he directed IPM research and training programs worldwide.
Dr. Lagnaoui has been noted throughout his distinguished career for his ability to work across cultures and disciplines. He has an impressive research record and has been widely published. Another of his many talents has been his ability to raise funds' between 1996 and 2000 he raised more than $3 million for IPM research
In naming Dr. Lagnaoui as a winner of the Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals, the selection committee cited his notable accomplishments in a fast-track career that has led Dr. Lagnaoui from regional to global leadership responsibilities in the field of Integrated Pest Management. In the words of one of his supporters from the CIP, "Dr. Lagnaoui's leadership has contributed to food security, poverty reduction, and environmentally sustainable development for resource-poor farmers in developing countries across the tropics."