The Carlotta Award recognizes outstanding young women researchers under 40 working in wheat genetics, genomics, breeding, and sustainable wheat production⁠⁠. “The recognition from Carlotta Award brings the awareness to the community that the simultaneous reduction in wheat immunoreactivity and improvement on dough quality for breadmaking is feasible and largely broadens the global impacts of my research achievement,” Dr. Yu stated⁠⁠.

The Carlotta Award Legacy

The award honors Carlotta Parisani Strampelli (1868-1926), a pioneering wheat geneticist whose contributions were long overshadowed by history⁠⁠. A noblewoman descended from Lucien Bonaparte, Carlotta married Nazareno Strampelli in 1900 and chose to dedicate herself to scientific research despite her aristocratic background⁠⁠.

Working in Rieti, she became her husband’s “most valuable and assiduous collaborator,” developing extraordinary skill in artificial pollination and improving hybridization performance⁠⁠. Her contributions were so significant that three wheat varieties were named after her: “Carlotta Strampelli,” “White Carlottina,” and “Red Carlottina”—with the first earning the prestigious “Premio Santoro” from Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in 1918⁠⁠.

Today, historians recognize Carlotta as a trailblazer who progressed from technical assistant to researcher, proving women’s vital contributions to cereal genetics⁠⁠. The Carlotta Award continues her legacy by celebrating the achievements of young women advancing wheat science⁠⁠.

To learn more about the Carlotta Award, visit: https://carlottaaward.weebly.com/