The Plant Press

From The Plant Press, Vol. 26, No. 3, July 2023.

A diplomatic solution: Demissew receives physical Cuatrecasas Medal

In May 2021, Professor Sebsebe Demissew was awarded the Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). He was recognized for his life's work in conserving and recording the very diverse Ethiopian flora with its many endemic species, and for his leadership of the Ethiopian Flora Project and the National Herbarium. Normally the engraved medal is presented in person to the recipient at the beginning of the annual Smithsonian Botanical Symposium, which NMNH hosts in concert with the U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG). The pandemic, however, forced NMNH and USBG to hold a virtual symposium and travel from Ethiopia to Washington was not feasible. Fortunately, Demissew joined the symposium remotely via Zoom and he spoke briefly after it was announced that he was the medal recipient.

Safely conveying the physical medal to Demissew, however, stymied the award committee until they described their dilemma to Carolyn Glassman, the U.S. Department of State’s liaison to the Smithsonian Institution. Glassman contacted the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa and they agreed to allow the medal to be sent via diplomatic pouch. Embassy staff then went above and beyond the committee’s expectations by organizing an early afternoon reception on the botanical garden-like Embassy grounds where Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson presented the medal to Demissew. A little magic with cell phone technology and Microsoft Teams allowed some members of the committee in Washington to observe the ceremony and they happily conveyed once again to Demissew their appreciation for his contributions to tropical botany. The committee was also very pleased that Ambassador Jacobson and the U.S. Embassy recognized the importance of his research for Ethiopia and the world.

Social media posts by the U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa appeared on Twitter and Facebook.