Political implications
Tso’s work in tobacco research earned him the respect of several White House administrations. During Lyndon B. Johnson’s term of office, Tso was selected as a chief scientist to evaluate the effects of tobacco on lung cancer. His work lead to the formation of the Presidential Lung Cancer Task Force in 1965.

During the Carter administration, Tso was promoted to the senior executive services level—the highest in the government grading system. During the Reagan administration, he was honored with the highest achievement in science award.

International relations
Beyond contributing to science, Tso’s leadership helped build relations between the United States and China. Widely respected and world-renowned, he played an instrumental role in strengthening scientific relations and trade with China. There, his efforts have led to millions of dollars of U.S. wheat exports per year.

Medical advancements
Outside the political arena, Tso’s work has lead to a variety of medical  advancements. With nearly 5,000 compounds in tobacco, he developed a group of fatty acid compounds to control tobacco sucker growth. Today, fruit and flowering industries use these compounds for thinning purposes.

Tso’s research also lead to a better understanding of how tobacco can be used as a source of medicine to create vaccines and as an intravenous injection healing product. Further, tobacco has also been evaluated for insect control.

Professional accolades
On December 7, 2005, Tso was inducted into the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Research Service Hall of Fame for outstanding research in plant physiology and phytochemistry that helped advance plant science.

Despite his extraordinary life and remarkable accomplishments Tso remains humble. “I hope that those who read my memoirs learn to never take things for granted. You have to work for what you want, to struggle for what you intend to achieve,” he remarks.

When asked what he thinks is the most important message of his memoirs, Tso says, “God gives us life, but it is up to us to make the life meaningful and useful.  In my case, the first 30 years I had to work hard to survive; in the second 30 years, I had to work hard to establish or to prove myself; and finally in the last 30 years, hard work becomes a habit.

“Opportunities are always there; only those ‘prepared’ can catch them. Success or failure is relative anyway. I recall that in Who’s Who in the World, the editor quoted me saying, ‘We are thankful to those fools who dare to dream something new and seemingly impossible.’”

Renaissance Gardens at Riderwood recently received one of the highest confirmations of quality services for skilled nursing facilities in the State of Maryland—a deficiency-free survey from the State Office of Health Care Quality, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The inspection team consisted of four trained surveyors—three registered nurses and a dietitian. Some of the areas evaluated as a part of this review included quality of care standards, food preparation and storage, and staff/resident interaction. Overall, the inspection team reviewed more than 150 regulatory standards during the on-site survey.