Sonny Ramaswamy, director of Agricultural Research Programs. (Photo by Tom Campbell)
Sonny Ramaswamy has been named director of Agricultural
Research Programs by Randy Woodson, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture
at Purdue University. Ramaswamy, currently head of the Kansas
State University Department of Entomology, will take the helm
Jan. 1. He assumes the duties from Woodson, who became dean a year
ago.
"Sonny is a visionary and optimist who has the academic leadership and research experience necessary to move Purdue agricultural science programs forward in this continually evolving world," Woodson says.
Emerging technologies and changing times are contributing to a reinvention of agriculture, says Ramaswamy, a native of India and an American Association for the Advancement of Science fellow. "The challenge for institutions such as Purdue is the ever-increasing population growth and diminishing natural resources, including agricultural land. The question is not how we deal with these opposing issues, but how well can science-based knowledge be used to develop better utilization of resources."
