James Schnable Earns National Honor

By Scout Nelson

The National Academy of Sciences has awarded James Schnable one of its highest honors for his pioneering contributions to plant science. The organization named him the 2026 recipient of the NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences, an award that includes a medal and a $100,000 prize. More details about the academy are available at https://www.nasonline.org.

“Schnable’s pioneering innovations in plant genomics, quantitative genetics and phenotyping are reshaping how we understand, improve and sustain the world’s major crops,” the academy stated while announcing the award.

The prize recognizes outstanding work by a mid-career U.S. scientist who has made exceptional contributions to agriculture or to the biology of species essential to food production. Past recipients are globally respected leaders in plant and animal genomics, food security, and agricultural sustainability.

James Schnable serves as the Nebraska Corn Presidential Chair and is a professor of agronomy and horticulture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. His work includes major breakthroughs such as helping map the complete corn genome, speeding up the identification of corn gene functions, and leading efforts to create the first digital twin of a cornfield. Information about the university can be found at https://www.unl.edu.

These projects rely on collaboration across science, engineering, artificial intelligence, and data analysis. The goal is to close knowledge gaps and help develop stronger and more adaptable crop varieties through breeding and gene editing.

“We work very collaboratively with people from very different disciplines, from different parts of the U.S.,” he said. “Our team always has to have a very rigorous focus on, does this matter? What is the impact going to be?”

His research helps improve crop health and supports the development of varieties that need less fertilizer and can better handle stress such as drought. His work is closely linked with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Center for Plant Science Innovation, which focuses on advanced agricultural research. More information is available at https://cpsi.unl.edu.

James Schnable is the youngest researcher to receive this NAS award. He credits teamwork, technology, and real-world field research for continued progress.

“In the last five years, the cost of measuring the RNA (genetic details) of each corn plant has gone from $200 to maybe $30,” he said. “Lots of other things get harder, but the quality of the data gets better, the cost gets lower, and the tools for analyzing it are also getting better. It's exciting to be living in an era when these things get better every year.”

Photo Credit: nebraska-extension