Manjit S. Kang

Biography

I am a plant geneticist and am currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at Kansas State University, Manhattan. I served as Vice Chancellor (CEO) of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) at Ludhiana (April 2007 to April 2011). I previously served for 21 years as Professor of Quantitative Genetics in the School of Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center and LSU A&M campuses in Baton Rouge. Before that, I was a Sugarcane Geneticist with the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida (1981-1986). I acquired industrial experience in hybrid maize breeding as Research Station Manager and Senior Plant Breeder at Cargill, Inc. (1977-1979).
I received a Ph.D. degree in 1977 in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the University of Missouri-Columbia. I also earned in 1977 an M.A. (Botany) degree from Southern Illinois University (SIU)-Carbondale. I received an M.S. (Plant Genetics) degree from SIU-Edwardsville in 1971. I earned a B.Sc. (Agri. & Animal Husbandry) degree with honors from PAU-Ludhiana in 1968.
I have specialized in quantitative genetics as applied to crop improvement. I am a Fellow of American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America. I am also honorary Fellow of Indian Society of Life Sciences, Crop Improvement Society of India, and Punjab Academy of Sciences. I have served as Technical Editor of Crop Science and Editor-in-Chief of Communications in Biometry and Crop Science. I am currently Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Crop Improvement and Book Review Editor of Crop Science.
I was recognized by my Alma Mater (PAU) for significant contributions to plant breeding and genetics at the 36th Foundation Day in 1997. In 1999, I was selected as a Fulbright Senior Scholar (teaching award) to Malaysia. I received from the Association of Agricultural Scientists of Indian Origin ‘Outstanding Agricultural Scientist Award for 2007’. I have served as a ‘Sigma Xi (Scientific Research Society) Distinguished Lecturer’ from July 2007 to June 2009. In February 2010, Amity University, Noida, bestowed on me ‘Amity Academic Excellence Award’. In 2011, I received from Guru Nanak Dev University-Amritsar the ‘Bishan Singh Samundri Lectureship Award’, sponsored by S. Jaswant Singh Rai Memorial Trust.  I have served as Chair of the National Selection Committee for Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Scholar awards given by the US-India Educational Foundation (2010 and 2011).  
I have edited and/or authored 12 books, including Genotype-by-Environment Interaction (1996; CRC Press), Quantitative Genetics, Genomics and Plant Breeding (2002; CABI Publishing), Crop Improvement: Challenges in the Twenty-First Century (2002; Haworth Press), Handbook of Formulas for Plant Geneticists and Breeder (2003; Haworth Press), GGE Biplot Analysis (2003; CRC Press), Genetic and Production Innovations in Field Crop Technology (2005; Haworth Press), Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability: Considerations for the Future (2007; Haworth Press), Breeding Major Food Staples (2007; Blackwell Publishing), Water and Agricultural Sustainability Strategies (2010; CRC Press), and Combating Climate Change: An Agricultural Perspective (2013, CRC Press).  I have published 136 refereed journal articles in international journals, 40 book chapters/encyclopedia essays, and 135 other technical publications.
I have lectured internationally on quantitative genetics as applied to crop improvement - in Hungary under the USDA/OICD sponsorship in 1992; in 1999, in Malaysia (Fulbright program); in 2005 at South Dakota State University (‘South Dakota Crop Improvement Association Lectureship’); at Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences at Kunming in 2006; at International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines (1999); and at International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Nigeria (2006, 2007). I have organized successful international conferences/symposia on Genotype-by-environment Interaction in Plant Breeding, Quantitative Genetics and Genomics, Agricultural and Environmental Sustainability, Water Management Strategies for Food Security and Environment Quality, and Preparing Agriculture for Climate Change.

Education

Ph.D., University of Missouri, Columbia, 1977
M.S., Southern Illinois Univ, Edwardsville, 1971

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

Plant Genetics, Plant Breeding, Quantitative Genetics

Personal Interests

Writing

Books

Photos