Manjit S. Kang
I am a plant geneticist and am currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University, Manhattan. I served as Vice Chancellor (CEO) of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) at Ludhiana (April 2007 to April 2011). I previously served for 21 years as Professor of Quantitative Genetics in the School of Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and LSU A&M campuses in Baton Rouge. Before that, I was a Sugarcane
Subjects: Agricultural Science, Life Science
Biography
I am a plant geneticist and am currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University, Manhattan. I served as Vice Chancellor (CEO) of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) at Ludhiana (April 2007 to April 2011). I previously served for 21 years as Professor of Quantitative Genetics in the School of Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and LSU A&M campuses in Baton Rouge. Before that, I was a Sugarcane Geneticist with the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida (1981-1986). I acquired industrial experience in hybrid maize breeding as Research Station Manager and Senior Plant Breeder at Cargill, Inc. (1977-1979).I received a Ph.D. degree in 1977 in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the University of Missouri-Columbia. I also earned in 1977 an M.A. (Botany) degree from Southern Illinois University (SIU)-Carbondale. I received an M.S. (Plant Genetics) degree from SIU-Edwardsville in 1971. I earned a B.Sc. (Agri. & Animal Husbandry) degree with honors from PAU-Ludhiana in 1968.
I have specialized in quantitative genetics as applied to crop improvement. I am a Fellow of American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America. I am also honorary Fellow of Indian Society of Life Sciences, Crop Improvement Society of India, and Punjab Academy of Sciences. I have served as Technical Editor of Crop Science and Editor-in-Chief of Communications in Biometry and Crop Science. I am currently Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Crop Improvement and Book Review Editor of Crop Science.
I was recognized by my Alma Mater (PAU) for significant contributions to plant breeding and genetics at the 36th Foundation Day in 1997. In 1999, I was selected as a Fulbright Senior Scholar (teaching award) to Malaysia. I received from the Association of Agricultural Scientists of Indian Origin ‘Outstanding Agricultural Scientist Award for 2007’. I have served as a ‘Sigma Xi (Scientific Research Society) Distinguished Lecturer’ from July 2007 to June 2009. In February 2010, Amity University, Noida, bestowed on me ‘Amity Academic Excellence Award’. In 2011, I received from Guru Nanak Dev University-Amritsar the ‘Bishan Singh Samundri Lectureship Award’, sponsored by S. Jaswant Singh Rai Memorial Trust. I have served as Chair of the National Selection Committee for Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Scholar awards given by the US-India Educational Foundation (2010 and 2011).
I have edited and/or authored 12 books, including Genotype-by-Environment Interaction (1996; CRC Press), Quantitative Genetics, Genomics and Plant Breeding (2002; CABI Publishing), Crop Improvement: Challenges in the Twenty-First Century (2002; Haworth Press), Handbook of Formulas for Plant Geneticists and Breeder (2003; Haworth Press), GGE Biplot Analysis (2003; CRC Press), Genetic and Production Innovations in Field Crop Technology (2005; Haworth Press), Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability: Considerations for the Future (2007; Haworth Press), Breeding Major Food Staples (2007; Blackwell Publishing), Water and Agricultural Sustainability Strategies (2010; CRC Press), and Combating Climate Change: An Agricultural Perspective (2013, CRC Press). I have published 136 refereed journal articles in international journals, 40 book chapters/encyclopedia essays, and 135 other technical publications.
I have lectured internationally on quantitative genetics as applied to crop improvement - in Hungary under the USDA/OICD sponsorship in 1992; in 1999, in Malaysia (Fulbright program); in 2005 at South Dakota State University (‘South Dakota Crop Improvement Association Lectureship’); at Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences at Kunming in 2006; at International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines (1999); and at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria (2006, 2007). I have organized successful international conferences/symposia on Genotype-by-environment Interaction in Plant Breeding, Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability, Water Management Strategies for Food Security and Environment Quality, and Preparing Agriculture for Climate Change.
Education
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Ph.D., University of Missouri, Columbia, 1977
M.S., Southern Illinois Univ, Edwardsville, 1971
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Plant Genetics, Plant Breeding, Quantitative Genetics
Personal Interests
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Writing