Rice: Research to Production - 2013 Course Participants

David Gale

Australisa
PhD candidate in Soil Science
Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia

David Gale, or Dave as most people know him, is currently undertaking a PhD investigating the ameliorative affects of compost application to Acid Sulphate Soils in Southern Vietnam. This project is something of an extension of his honours (similar to Masters) research project which looked more broadly at the agronomic benefits of partial substitution of synthetic fertiliser with compost in a Vietnamese baby corn cropping system. In the two years between finishing his honours and beginning his PhD, however, Dave worked for the state department of agriculture in greenhouse (i.e. soil-less) horticulture.

Hirendra Nath Barman

Bangladesh
Senior Scientific Officer
Plant Physiology Division
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Bangladesh

My name is Hirendra Nath Barman and I grew up in Panchagarh, a northern district of Bangladesh. I have passed B.Sc.Ag. (Hon's) in 2005, MS in Horticulture in 2007 and MS in Crop Botany in 2011 from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. As an agriculturist my dream is to be a good researcher. I got opportunity to join Bangladesh Rice Research Institute as a Scientific Officer in 2007. Now I am promoted to Senior Scientific Officer and working on stress physiology of rice. However, major responsibilities are to develop, organize and execute research on rice stress physiology and reporting as well as help our farmers on any kind of problems related to rice cultivation in Bangladesh.

Mst. Selima Zahan

Bangledesh
Senior Scientific Officer
Agronomy Division, Regional Station, Comilla
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Bangladesh

My name is Mst.Selima Zahan and I grew up in Bogra, a northern district of Bangladesh. I have passed B Sc Ag (Hon's) in 2004, MS in Genetics and Plant Breeding in 2007 from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. As an agriculturist my dream was become a good researcher and I get opportunity to join Bangladesh Rice Research Institute as a Scientific Officer in 2007. Now I am promoted to Senior Scientific Officer and working with planting time, fertilizer management of rice and also involved in the dissemination of technologies related to rice. Major responsibilities are to develop, organize and execute research on rice related to planting date and fertilizer management and reporting as well as help to our farmers on any kind of problems related to rice cultivation in Bangladesh.

Vipin Kumar

India
MS, Agra, University,
Agra, UP, India

I had born in a farmer's family of district Meerut, U.P. in the year 1980. I served IRRI for more than 12 years in various capacities such as Assistant Scientist. I have published one research paper in reputed international journals. I have worked on resource conserving technologies, precision farming, site-specific nutrient management (SSNM), crop diversification, direct seeded rice (DSR) and laser land leveling (LLL). I along with my team members in collaboration with national research partners disseminated SSNM, DSR, LLL and ZTW technologies to farmers over large area. I am presently working With IRRI as a Extension Agronomy in CSISA project EUP hub, Gorakhpur, India.

Pratibha Kumari

India
Assistant Scientist, Extension Agronomy
IRRI India Office, CSISA

I was born in a small town Ara, Bihar state of India. I did my graduation in Agriculture from Allahabad Agriculture Institute- Deemed University, Allahabad & post graduation in Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. After completing my study I have served IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd. at Patna, Bihar as Content Manager. I served this position for 2 yrs & 9 months. My work was providing agro-advisory as voice message on day-to-day basis to the farmers through mobile phone. This service was provided to about 250 thousand farmers of the state. A helpline service through a short code number was also made available to the farmers for resolving their problems on real time basis. I have Joined IRRI (CSISA) on 16th May 2013.

Dr. Ananda Shettihalli Ramaiah

India
Scientist (Agronomy)
University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India

Karnataka, India. I was born and bought up in the small village in Karnataka state, India. During the year 2002, I received my graduation in Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore and then during 2005, I completed my Master Degree specialization with Agronomy from University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad where I focused on response of Bt cotton hybrids to different planting geometry under irrigation. Later, I received my Ph.D graduation from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore during 2010. During which i conducted my research on Site Specific Nutrient Management for yield maximization in different field crops including staple food crop of the world "RICE". At present I am working as Scientist (Agronomy) in All India Co-ordinated Research Project (AICRP) on management of salt affected soils, Agricultural Research Station, Gangavathi where rice-rice is the major cropping system followed by the farmers. Where I am conducting research on screening for salt tolerance genotypes of rice, weed management in rice especially Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) and other research related to salinity management in command areas. As a participant in the IRRI short course I look forward to experiencing the advances in rice production and weed management in Direct Seeded Rice.

Swetapadma D. Satpathy

India
M.S.Agronomy, OUAT, Bhubaneswar
Rural Management , IRMA , Anand, India

I am born and brought up in a small town called Angul in Odisha, India. Having spent my youth years in village, I developed a natural affinity toward farm and farming following which I joined State Bank of India as a Marketing Officer for Agriculture sector. Dealing with the farmers' community as a Marketing Officer I came across the bottlenecks in the implementation of various schemes of the Government/NGOs and also realized I need to be technically more equipped in order to help the farmers by ensuring the reachability of the benefits of the said schemes. So, I joined Postgraduate Programme in Rural Management in Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA).Post completion of the program I worked with Rural Development department which gave me an excellent opportunity to interact with farmers, government agencies, non-government organizations and private firms for developing proposals, raise funds, implementing and review the project. I joined IRRI in February, 2013 as an Extension Agronomist which gave me an opportunity to work with rice farmers of the state. As a participant in the IRRI training course I look forward to understand and learn firsthand knowledge on rice production and research.

Ratna Sari Dewi

Indonesia
M.S. Plant Protection
Bogor Agricultural University

Ratna or Nana is originally from Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. Ratna obtained her Master's degree in 2010 from Plant Protection, Bogor Agricultural University. She finished her Bachelor's Degree (Strata 1) in 2002 at the same University. After she finished her Bachelor's Degree, she worked at Laboratory of Insect Physiology and Toxicology, Plant Protection Department, Bogor Agricultural University until 2006. In 2006 to 2010 she worked at Surfactant and Bioenergy Research Center as Researcher, and in 2011 she joined at plant protection division of Indonesian Center for Rice Research. Her field research is plant disease, bacterial leaf blight.

Gagad Restu Pratiwi

Indonesia
Ecophysiology Junior Researcher
Indonesian Center for Rice Research (ICRR)

My name is Gagad Restu Pratiwi, and I'm a Javanese. I grew up in Papua, its east region of Indonesia where beach can be find everywhere. I received my master degree on plant physiology in 2006 from Gadjah Mada University, in Yogyakarta Indonesia. I started to work at Agricultural Ministry in 2008 as a junior researcher of Indonesian Center for Food Crops Research and Development. Then, in 2009, I started to work at Indonesian Center for Rice Research (ICRR) in ecophysiology and reserach dissemination. Now, I'm working on nutrient management and planting system of rice. We had a collaboration with IRRI (Dr. Roland Buresh) on PHSL based on phonecell and smartphone.

Jesus Cabrera

Philippines
Agricultural Technologist
Office of the Municipal Agriculturist

A graduate of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Animal Science minor in crop science with seven years' experience as Agricultural Extension Worker and Agricultural Technologist since C.Y. 2006 to present, at the Office of the Municipal Agriculturist of the Municipal Government of Apalit.presently handling the following Agricultural Programs of Apalit; as Project Leader of Cyber Village Project Phase II, and since I am an Agriculturist I handle the four(4) banner program under Agri pinoy program of the Department of Agriculture and task for agricultural development of the community (Brgy. Tabuyuc). as the need arises in terms of Agricultural Extension Services which includes Technology Transfer to Farmers. Lastly

Kris Royd Caburnay

Philippines
Agricultural Technologist
Local Government of BanayBanay Davao Oriental

"Kris" was born in the Philippines; a bisaya tribe and a roman catholic here in Mindanao, a graduate of Bachelor in Agricultural Technology year 2009, a registered and a licensed Agriculturist in the Philippines. Davao Oriental State College of Science and Technology (DOSCST), a public institution which was the molder of his present career, Kris is a 24 year old cute guy designated as Agricultural Extension Worker which was assigned in the field of rice science and at the same time the Bureau of Plant Industry designated him as a Seed Inspector to Administers Seed Inspection, Seed Certification requirements and field monitoring in Rice Seed Production areas. He is also one of the cyber site coordinator of the cyber village project phase 2 established in the said LGU. Since he got no major in his degree he attended a lot of trainings to know the all about rice. He is also handling Researched and Development trials and focusing the location-specific technology and applicable advanced technologies to help the rice farmers improving their decision-making skills and to the profitable farming.

Eric V. Reynoso

Philippines
Senior Manager
Pland Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology Division, IRRI

Eric is an agricultural engineer, from Los Ba�os, Laguna in the Philippines. He has worked with Hoechst, Monsanto, BASF and Syngenta in various sales, marketing, and management roles. He joined IRRI June 2012, and is currently working for the Golden Rice project with focus on product delivery and deployment.

Buddhima Kariyawasam

Sri Lanka
PhD candidate (Plant Sciences)
Research School of Biology, The Australian National University

Ever since she can remember, Buddhima has been fascinated by many aspects of Agriculture and Biology. She followed this passion up by obtaining a B.Sc. degree in Agriculture and M.Sc. degree in Crop Science at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Last year Buddhima was awarded the Australian government scholarship Endeavour postgraduate award to undertake her PhD at the Australian National University. Her research interests fall mainly in the field of Crop Physiology particularly the efficiency of nitrogen use in rice. Prior that, she gathered working experiences as a research assistant, Biology/ Science teacher, research investigator and a lecturer in different local institutions. In her spare time she enjoys good food, bicycling and bush walking.

Omer Badi Mohammed

Sudan
Extensionist
Ministry Of Agriculture, Animal Wealth & Natural Resources Gezira State - Sudan

I graduated with BSc ( honor )in Sudan University of Science and Technology, Collage of Agricultural Studies, Food Science and Technology Division in 2003. After that I worked in Agricultural Research and Technology Center (ARTC) and Sudanese Standards and Metrology as trainee. In 2006 I worked for Ministry of Agriculture state (MoAS). My institution started rice sowing in 2010 of 5 feddan and we got no yield. In 2011 we established Rice Promotion Unit and increased planted area as demonstration fields. Last season 2012 I was a supervisor of the village 44 demonstration farm where we held a field day ceremony.

Kiattisak Kerdsuk

Thailand
Agricultural Extensionist, Rice Department

I currently live in Phitsanulok province, a medium-sized city in the lower northern of Thailand. In 2007, I received a M.S. in Agricultural Science and Entomology from Naresuan University. After graduated I worked for the National Biological Control Research Center. I focused on biological control agent of insect pest and integrated pest management on rice, cabbage and sugarcane. In 2009, I started with Phitsanulok Rice Seed Center, Rice Seed Bureau, Rice Department. We have been producing rice seeds about 6,000 tons per year. In addition to rice seed production, I also research on ecological engineering to control brown planthoppers and reduce using insecticide on rice production. I have interested in rice protection technology and ecosystem.

Chris Boursnell

United Kingdom
Research Assistant at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge

I grew up in Cambridge and in 2001 I studied at the University of Birmingham reading Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence. After working for 4 years programming and handling data for a bank I decided that working in bioinformatics would be far more rewarding work. I volunteered at the University of Cambridge Department of Virology and the Sanger Institute for about a year before I started my MSc in Computational Biology at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. There I learned about the need for crop development. I joined the Department of Plant Sciences in Cambridge in November 2012. We are working on the wild rice MAGIC project in collaboration with IRRI to breed disease and drought resistant rice.

Philip Kear

United Kingdom
PhD Candidate in Plant Breeding and Genetics and International Agriculture, Cornell University

In 1999 I completed my BSc (Hons) in Horticulture at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, UK. I was initially exposed to the need for international development while working and traveling in East Africa in 2000. In 2001, I began voluntary work in a rural university for Korean ethnic minorities in northeast China. I taught classes in various biology related subjects. The voluntary work evolved into a full-time teaching job, ultimately causing me to live in China for almost 7 years. During this period I frequently met refugees from North Korea and became familiar with the plight that many of these people suffered. In 2007, I moved to Peru to start research at the International Potato Center (CIP) and established a new area of research that looked at the biology of interspecific crossing barriers between wild and cultivated potatoes. This research fed into the establishment of a joint-US universities/CIP collaboration looking into self-incompatibility in potato and tomato. In 2008, I moved to Missouri University to start research work

Patrick bell

United States
MS student Plant and Soil Science and International Agriculture, Oklahoma State University

Patrick Bell is originally from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He completed his undergraduate degree in Environmental Sciences and is working on master degrees in Plant and Soil Science and International Agriculture at Oklahoma State University. While at Oklahoma State, Patrick has worked on development projects in Uganda, Sierra Leone, Mexico, and Jamaica. He is the recipient of the 2012 Soil and Water Conservation Scholarship, 2012 NACTA Graduate Teaching Award, and the 2013 ASA-CSSA-SSSA Future Leader in Science Award. This fall he will begin a PhD. program studying nutrient cycling in agroecosystems and assessing methods for climate change adaptation and mitigation in developing countries. When he graduates, Patrick's goal is to work as a research scientist working on issues in food security.

Alexis Erwin

United States
PhD candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University

Alexis Erwin received her B.S. with honors in Geological Sciences-Biology from Brown University in 2006. She is currently finishing her Ph.D. in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University. Focusing on interactions between plants and insects that eat their leaves and roots, her research seeks to address questions about how variation in plant traits affects ecological processes above- and belowground, and the evolution of plant chemical defenses. She is looking forward to complementing her understanding of plant-insect ecology in natural systems with new knowledge about pest management in agricultural systems, food production, and food (in)security.

Carl Jensen

United States
MS International Agriculture and Development, University of California, Davis

Carl is pursuing a graduate degree in International Agricultural Development from the University of California at Davis, with focuses in Agronomy and Project Management. As an employee of the University's Program for International Energy Technologies, Carl is also working to improve methods of technology diffusion in a developing world context. His research interests involve cover crops and cropping system synchrony.

Emilie Kirk

United States
MS Soils and Biochemistry, University of California, Davis

Emilie is currently finishing her Master's degree in Soils and Biogeochemistry at the University of California, Davis, working with Dr. Bruce Linquist and Dr. Chris van Kessel. Her research is focused on nitrogen cycling in a peat soil recently converted to paddy rice cultivation, with an emphasis on sustainable production and nutrient management. She completed her B.Sc. in International Agricultural Development, and has experience with rice agriculture in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and California. Before attending UC Davis she also worked on small family farms on the northern California coast for four seasons. She plans to pursue a career in agricultural extension as a rice production and soil fertility specialist with a specific interest in Southeast Asia. By working directly with farmers in their communities and through collaboration with international research and development organizations, she hopes to promote scale-appropriate, sustainable farming methods to improve livelihood prospects for rice farmers in the region.

Jehiel Oliver

United States
MS Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, I currently live in Ithaca, NY where I attend Cornell University. At Cornell I am studying applied economics with a focus on credit access for agricultural producers in developing markets. In addition to my academic activities, I also work as an independent consultant within international development, working with USAID, Calvert Foundation, BRAC, CIMMYT and UN-FAO. In addition to my consulting duties, I also serve on the board of directors as treasurer for Shared Interest, an impact investment fund that has benefited over 2 million people to date through its investments in microfinance institutions and agricultural cooperatives in South Africa and Mozambique. Prior to my transition to global development I worked within the US investment banking industry.

Brian Pfeiffer

United States
MS Plant Breeding, Texas A&M University

Brian Pfeiffer is currently a Master of Science student at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX majoring in Plant Breeding. His research focuses on improving nutritional properties of sorghum. Brian graduated from Iowa State University in May of 2012 with a BS in Agronomy. During his studies he completed internships with the USDA-ARS, DuPont Pioneer, and Monsanto. Brian grew up in central Illinois where his family raises corn and soybeans on their family farm. His future goals include obtaining his PhD in plant breeding.

Haley Sater

United States
MS Crop, Soils and Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas

My name is Haley Sater, and I'm a native Minnesotan. I grew up in a suburb outside of the twin cities where I enjoyed a healthy dose of winter every year. Like a true Minnesotan, I started skiing when I was six, curling when I was nine, and cross country skiing shortly afterwards. When you grow up in a place with so much snow you might as well utilize it. As an undergraduate at Hamline University studying Biology, I grew tired of the cold and miserable winters. When I finished my Bachelor's degree I opted to follow my true passion, which has always been working with plants. I knew I wanted to work with a crop that was economically significant and consumed worldwide. This led me to my graduate choice of study, rice breeding and genetics. I am now a Master's student at the University of Arkansas under Dr. Karen Moldenhauer working on a population genetics project. Our goal is to improve head rice yield through genetic incorporation of fissure resistance traits.

Maegen Simmonds

United States
PhD Soils and Biogeochemistry, University of California, Davis

As a PhD candidate in Soils and Biogeochemistry at the University of California, Davis, my dissertation research centers in California rice agroecosystems. Specifically I have studied the causes of spatiotemporal variability of soil fertility and yield, and more recently, the interactions among carbon and nitrogen cycling, cultivar-specific traits, management practices, and emissions of methane and nitrous oxide from rice soils. It has been an amazing opportunity to conduct research as both a field scientist, working directly with California rice growers and in the rice fields, and as a modeler, simulating plant growth and greenhouse gas emissions. As a participant in the IRRI shortcourse I look forward to experiencing first-hand the agronomic practices of Asian rice farmers and learning about the specific challenges they face. Following graduate school, I hope to conduct basic research on biogeochemical cycling in agricultural systems and use the data directly in model development.

Hans Spalholz

United States
MS Plant Science, Univserity of Arizona

I grew up in Bainbridge, New York, a small town that allowed me to enjoy the great outdoors. In 2006 I received a B.S. in Plant Science from Cornell University where I focused on perennial cropping systems such as viticulture, berry crop, and orchard management. At Cornell independent studies and internships included raspberry season extension work, an organic field crop system summer internship, and a fellowship in the Amazon to document medicinal plant use among indigenous people. After college I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal, West Africa for 2 years. I lived in a small village working with farmers to improve food security. I focused on better field crop management, gardening activities, beekeeping, orcharding, and agroforestry as well as conducted non-agriculture workshops relating to family planning, nutrition, finance, and sanitation. I returned with Peace Corps Senegal for a third year to work on a tree-fruit project. The main objective was to conduct trainings on tree grafting with volunteers and local farmers as well as propagate and distribute improved cultivars of citrus and mango to selected farmers. In 2011 I began an M.S. degree in Plant Science at the University of Arizona. Here at the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center I focus on vegetable seedling grafting and the physiology of grafted seedlings in low temperature storage. While in Tucson, I have found time to enjoy the outdoors by hiking the many peaks in southern Arizona and cycling on- and off-road.

Jennifer Spindel

United States
PhD Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University

Jen Spindel grew up in Portland, Oregon in the Pacific Northwest United States. She received her B.A. in 2010 from Swarthmore College, in Swarthmore Pennsylvania, where she completed the honors biology program. She began pursuing her PhD in the fall of 2010 in the department of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University, and is currently a graduate student in the lab of Dr. Susan McCouch. Jen's current focus is on applying genomic selection models to rice breeding and developing computational-genomics strategies for gene bank management and germplasm quality control. She is very interested in the practical applications of high density genomic data and in developing tools that bridge gaps between geneticists, bioinformaticians, gene banks, and breeders.