It is with great sadness that we heard the passing away of Dr Tesfaye Tessema, a Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, after a brief illness, on Tuesday, January 15, 2018, in Canada at the age of 77.
It is with great sadness that we heard the passing away of Dr Tesfaye Tessema, a Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, after a brief illness, on Tuesday, January 15, 2018, in Addis Ababa at the age of 77.
Dr Tesfaye Tessema was a freelancer with a specialization in Plant Breeding/Crop Production and plant breeding consultant. He received B.Sc. degree in General Agriculture (1960) from Alemaya College of Agriculture, now Haromaya University, Ethiopia; M.Sc. degree in Agronomy (1964) from New Mexico State University, USA, Post Graduate Diploma in Wheat Breeding and Production (1968) from CIMMYT, Mexico; and a PhD degree in Plant Breeding (1973) from Oklahoma State University, USA.
He worked in crops research at Debre Zeit Research Center; taught at Debre Ziet Agricultural College. With Assistant professorship and promotion to Associate Professorship, he taught Plant Breeding at Haromaya University. Joined Seeds of Survival/USC (1994-1997) and Sasakawa Global 2000 programs (2000-2009).
Dr Tesfaye was instrumental for release of improved varieties of teff and wheat in Ethiopia. He had published extensive articles in national, international scientific journals and workshop proceedings. He was a member of the Crop Society of Ethiopia and Ethiopian Association of Agricultural Professionals.
He was honored as an Outstanding Ethiopian Plant Scientist Designate by National Crop Improvement Committee of Ethiopia (1975); Guest of Honor of Haromaya University (1993) ); Distinguished International Alumni Award (Oklahoma State University, USA 1998); Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Research (Debre Zeit Research Center, 1998); Gold Medal Certificates (Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization (1999) and Haromaya University (2004).
Dr Tesfaye was one of the founding Fellows of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences. The Academy extends its deepest condolences to his families, friends and colleagues. He will be fondly remembered by the Academy. May his soul rest in peace.