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| Distinguished Alumni |
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Evandro Chartuni Mantovani
Evandro Chartuni Mantovani knew more about Purdue as a young child growing
up in southeastern Brazil in the 1950s than most children in southeastern
Indiana today know about us.
The son of a professor at the Federal University of Vicosa, where many
Purdue faculty visited, he befriended many of their children. While that
gave him an introduction to people in the United States, coming to Purdue
in 1975 was still a new culture, language, climate, and lifestyle, he
recalls.
Mantovani earned his Bachelor’s at Vicosa and worked at EMBRAPA, a corn and sorghum research station, before coming to Purdue in 1981. He returned to EMBRAPA after earning his Master’s and Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering here. Today he’s a senior researcher at EMBRAPA.
He’s not been a stranger since leaving campus in 1984, however. In 1992, he was the technical consultant for a 15-member tour group of Brazilian farmers, Extension staff, and private companies who visited Purdue. He’s also participated in numerous international visiting programs and seminar presentations since, including visits to Purdue and serving as host at Vicosa.
Mantovani’s accomplishments include serving as Brazilian National Coordinator for the Precision Agriculture Program and having full membership in Italy’s Club of Bologna Committee, an international association of experts who help governments, farmers, and manufacturers make decisions about agricultural mechanization.
Mantovani has also:
• Solved a major planting time problem for Brazilian farmers by developing a new series of disks, now used in about 90 percent of his country’s planters,
• Served as the technical delegation coordinator for a workshop on precision agriculture in Argentina,
• Developed a Precision Agricultural Automation Lab at Vicosa, and
• Served as major professor for 10 master’s students at Vicosa and been a committee member for many others.
For his outstanding contribution to the food, agriculture, and natural
resources system, the Purdue College of Agriculture is proud to present
the Distinguished Agricultural Alumnus Award to Evandro Chartuni Mantovani.
| Singing for His Soul
After a day that might include international collaborations, research in precision agriculture, and community service, Evandro Chartuni Mantovani likes to kick back, play a few popular Brazilian tunes on his wooden guitar, and maybe sing along. It’s the perfect cure for high-pressure days, he says. “When I play the guitar, many good feelings come to mind. It’s a way to enjoy life and to control the stress a bit,” he says. “When singing and playing with your soul, it looks like life is in another dimension, giving me a lot of good energy to move on.” Influenced early by the Beatles and a friend who played the guitar, Mantovani was about 20 when he started playing, at first by ear. “Finally, last year I decided to take guitar classes,” he says. His favorites are samba, bossa nova, and romantic tunes. “I like to play the Brazilian popular music.” Although he doesn’t perform—preferring to play at home with family and friends—like the Beatles, he’s influenced others. “Because of my interest in playing guitar, my two sons have become excellent musicians, and they have a rock band that performs during weekends for fun.” Sports, too, are a big interest, as participant and fan. At Purdue he played tennis and joined fellow Brazilians in intramural games on a team named “Brasa.” Today, he’s a fan, cheering many a weekend for the Minas Gerais’ Cruzeiro soccer team in national competition. He still takes to the tennis court about three times a week for matches of his own. Equally important, he says, is work for others. That currently includes serving as a member of the Hospital Nossa Senhora das Gracas Council. “I always give part of my time to help the community of Sete Lagoas.” |
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