The director of Iowa State University’s Seed Science Centre was recently honored by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture. Manjit Misra, who also is a professor of biosystems engineering, was presented the Global Agriculture Academic Leadership Award during the 10th annual Global Agriculture Leadership Summit in New Delhi.
The Global Leadership Awards recognize individuals and institutions for leadership in advanced agriculture and are based on nominations of experts in the fields of policy, academic research, industry, environment, innovation, livelihood, entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, development and international leadership.
The Seed Science Centre is a centre of excellence in seeds at Iowa State University. Its mission is to improve the production, quality assurance, marketing, utilization and regulatory environment of seed through research, testing, teaching, outreach and international programs.
Misra came to the United States in 1971 to get postgraduate degrees at the University of Missouri among professors who helped develop his college curriculum in India. He moved to Ames seven years later to start teaching at ISU and working with the ISU Seed Science Center, becoming its director in 1991.
The centre is the largest public tester of seed health in the world and administers the National Seed Health System on behalf of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, giving it oversight over every other lab in the country that certifies seeds meet import standards set by other countries.