Faculty School of Agricultural Sciences & Forestry

Prof. (Dr.) J. Kumar, a visionary leader in agricultural sciences, holds an illustrious career spanning several decades. Prof. Kumar has over 40 years of experience in Agriculture Research, Education and Development/management. He has 40 Academic Distinctions/Awards/Honours in his name. He has got 21 ResearcDr. J. Kumar is an accomplished academic with an impressive educational background. He obtained his M.Sc. Agri. and Ph.D. degrees from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture & Technology (GBPUAT), Pantnagar, between 1975 and 1983. Throughout his career, Dr. Kumar held various positions, including Professor & Head of the Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Dean of the College of Agriculture, GBPUAT, Vice-Chancellor of GBPUAT, Pantnagar, and Vice-Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor at Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun. Dr. Kumar has also served as a Post-doctoral Fellow & Project Scientist at the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, from 1993 to 1996 and as a Visiting Scientist at various institutions, including the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, in 1997, 1998, 2001, and 2002; Cornell University, USA, in 1999 and 2000; and INRA, France, in 2004. Dr. Kumar has been involved in 21 national and international competitive research projects, including multi-institutional and multi-faculty projects funded by national and international agencies. Dr. Kumar has published ten patents based on his research. Dr. Kumar has received numerous awards and recognitions for his outstanding contributions to the field of agriculture. Some of his notable awards include the Prof. M. J. Narasimhan Academic Merit Award (1985), Jawahar Lal Nehru Award (1986), Pesticide India Award (1987), Uttarakhand Ratan Award (2007), Plant Pathology Leadership Award of Indian Phytopathological Society (2012), K.C.Mehta and Manoranjan Mitra Award of Indian Phytopathological Society (2015), Dr.T.S.Thind Life-Time Achievement Award of Indian Society of Plant Pathologists (ISPP) (2019), Life-Time Recognition Award of Confederation of Horticulture Associations of India (2020), and Uttarakhand Ratan Shri Award (2022). Dr Kumar is a Rockefeller Foundation (USA) Biotechnology Career Fellow (1998), Fellow of the National Academy of Agriculture Academy (NAAS) (2015), Fellow of the Confederation of Horticulture Associations of India (CHAI) (2019), and a Trustee of the Asian Agri-History Foundation. He has published over 120 refereed research papers/reviews in international/national journals, besides many book chapters, and proceeding articles. Dr. Kumar co-edited a four-volume publication titled "Plant Diseases of International Importance,â?� which was published by Prentice Hall, New Jersey, USA. He has also guided 25 M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in Plant Pathology, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering, several of whom have received awards.h grants during his career. He has to his credit of publishing over 174 Research Articles, Books and Monographs.