Advisory Panel

Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy

Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore in 1973 and Master's degree in 1976. He received Ph.D. degree in 1980 from the Department of Entomology at Rutgers University. He also worked with Dr. Fumio Matsumura as a post-doc at Michigan State on the effects of pesticides on sodium/calcium exchange in the brains of rats and insects. In 1992, he spent a sabbatical leave in Dr. Wendell Roelofs’ laboratory at Cornell University studying the mode of action of neuropeptides on sex pheromone production in moths.

Sonny was on the faculty at Mississippi State University from August 1982 through 1997, as the Insect Physiologist. Ramaswamy assumed the entomology department headship at Kansas State University in 1997.

Currently, Sonny serves as the Director of Agricultural Research Programs and Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture at Purdue University. He provides leadership for research programs in agriculture, food and natural resources, including fiscal management and regulatory functions assigned by the Indiana State Legislature. Sonny oversees an $80M annual research budget, including over $50M in grants and contracts, eight regional Purdue Agricultural Centers, research farms, campus-based research facilities and a number of research centers. He also coordinates agricultural research with the Purdue College of Consumer and Family Sciences and the School of veterinary medicine, and facilitates effective linkages with other campus research communities and with Cooperative Extension.

Dr. Channapatna S. Prakash

Dr. Channapatna S. Prakash, Professor, Tuskegee University (USA) is an Agricultural Biotechnologist. Beyond his research on improving food crops using gene technology, Prakash is renowned for his efforts to promote food and agricultural biotechnology in India and other developing countries. He has served in the advisory capacity for both Presidents Clinton and Bush's cabinet secretaries, and also for the governments of India and Karnataka.

Dr. Prakash grew up in Bengaluru, initially studying in the Kannada medium and received his higher education at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, where he got his B.Sc.(Ag.) and M.Sc.(Ag.) in Plant Breeding and Genetics. While pursuing his Ph. D at UAS, he was awarded a prestigious fellowship at the Australian National University, Canberra, where he finished his Ph. D in Forestry and Genetics.

Dr. Prakash travels worldwide to promote biotechnology and has lectured, met with policy makers and interacted with media in nearly fifty countries. He has provided valuable training in genetic engineering at USA to more than a dozen students and scholars from UAS and helped them to continue their research after their return to India. Most of the students that he has mentored have assumed leadership position at such prestigious institutions as Yale University, USDA, UAS, Coffee Board and ICAR, etc.,