ICARDA scientist receives international recognition
An ICARDA scientist was recently awarded the 2014 Outstanding Young Scientist Award at the annual awards ceremony of the Association of Agricultural Scientists of Indian Origin (AASIO), held in Long Beach, California.
Dr. Vinay Nangia, Agricultural Hydrologist in ICARDA’s Integrated Water and Land Management research program, was recognized for his outstanding contributions to agricultural research for development. Dr. Nangia has research experience on a wide range of issues relating to agricultural water resource management and environmental impact assessment.
At ICARDA, he is a core member of a team of researchers assessing water-use efficiency, crop production function analysis, irrigation and drainage performance diagnoses, evaluation of water saving/conservation options,
In addition, he has experience managing research projects and client interactions, strengthening capacity, and communicating results at a range of levels. Dr. Nangia has 45 scientific publications, including journal and conference papers and book chapters. He maintains links with education, serving as academic advisor to graduate students, conducting training workshops, and serving on editorial boards of reputed scientific publications.
Research activities over the past year include an initiative to improve and stabilize olive yields in Morocco and Syria through the implementation of advanced and sustainable irrigation systems. Impacts have included improved water productivity; an increase in olive yields; higher quality oil; and rising farmer incomes. Dr. Nangia also leads crop water productivity improvement projects in India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, valuation of ecosystem services in Kazakhstan, and supplemental irrigation trials in China, Iraq and Jordan.
Responding to the recent award, Dr. Nangia commented: “This award is a great honor, and motivates me to excel in my profession.”