Zia Mehrabi, director of the Better Planet Lab at the University of Colorado, Boulder, was recently named the U.S. national champion for the third edition of the Frontiers Planet Prize. Awarded annually, the Frontiers Planet Prize is an international award that recognizes extraordinary researchers around the world whose work addresses urgent environmental challenges.

Mehrabi was selected as national champion because of his role in a global network of researchers assessing the benefits of diversified agriculture to create more productive and sustainable food systems. This highly interdisciplinary study brought together over 50 researchers and thousands of farmers across 11 countries and five continents in a grassroots collaboration to demonstrate the effectiveness of their cross-continental, multi-farming system, and culturally contextual approach.

An international jury selects national champions from among individuals nominated by each participating country’s National Representative Body (NRB). NRBs choose their national nominees from submissions made by universities and research institutions. The National Academy of Sciences serves as the NRB for the United States.

At a recent event held by Swissnex and the Frontiers Research Foundation, Mehrabi gave a keynote address about his work and how it relates to the Frontiers Planet Prize. Mehrabi’s research examines the scientific dimensions of loss of biodiversity, use of land, reducing environmental pollution, and the disruption of planetary flows as well as the social outcomes on human well-being, crop yields, and food security.

“In the beginning, we didn’t know we could do it — it was actually a really high risk,” Mehrabi said. “You’re trying to pull together these researchers from all these different places, all who’ve collected the same research but in different ways.”

As a national champion, Mehrabi is now in the running for an award of 1 million USD for his institution to continue his transformative work. Three international winners will be announced in June at an awards ceremony in Switzerland. Jason Rohr of the University of Notre Dame, the U.S. national champion for the second edition of the Frontiers Planet Prize, was named one of the international champions in last year’s competition.

“I think [receiving this honor] signals to the rest of the scientific community to think outside the box,” Mehrabi said. “For me and this group of researchers, this national recognition will give us the motivation to keep going and keep building out further.”

“Our partnership with the National Academy of Sciences is key to the mission of the Frontiers Planet Prize,” said Jean-Claude Burgelman, director of the prize. “As one of the first academies to join us when we launched the prize on Earth Day in April 2022, the Academy has helped us mobilize scientific excellence — first across the U.S. and then globally — to address the complex environmental challenges facing our planet. Thanks to this collaboration, we’ve ensured widespread U.S. participation, with nearly 100 institutions nationwide registered to take part, allowing us to spotlight groundbreaking research from coast to coast and beyond.”

The application cycle for the fourth edition of the Frontiers Planet Prize begins in June. Register for a June 5 webinar to learn more.