Prabhu Pingali, director of the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition, was elected as a foreign fellow of the Indian National Science Academy (INSA). Foreign fellows are individuals who do not live in India and are renowned for their contributions to science and have contributed or can contribute to the progress of science in India.

Pingali was elected for his “highly acclaimed research and policy accomplishments in agricultural development and food security.” INSA cited his 2012 comprehensive review of impacts of the Green Revolution in the journal PNAS, which is a standard reference for agricultural development students, as well as his research on the harmful effects of pesticides, which won numerous international awards and led to safer policies in the Philippines. INSA also cited Pingali’s work on agricultural mechanization and technology adoption in Africa, for which he won the Research Discovery Award from the American Association of Agricultural Economists in 1988.

“I am extremely grateful to be recognized for my work by INSA and look forward to continuing to support India’s agricultural development as a foreign fellow,” Pingali said. “I share this honor with all of my students, research fellows, postdocs, and other collaborators who have contributed enormously to our research.”

Foreign fellows may attend and vote at INSA general meetings and can propose other individuals for fellowships or INSA awards. As of 2024, there are 99 foreign fellows. Pingali is one of six foreign fellows elected this year. His term will begin on January 1, 2025.

The founding director of TCI, Pingali is a faculty member in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, with an appointment in the Department of Global Development. He has previously been elected as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a prevasi (foreign) fellow of India’s National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a fellow of the African Association of Agricultural Economists, an honorary life member of the International Association of Agricultural Economists, a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association.

INSA was founded in 1935 to act as a resource pool of knowledge, promote science in India, harness scientific knowledge for national welfare, identify and nurture scientific talent in India, and to represent Indian science and scientists on behalf of the Indian government.

Featured image: TCI Director Prabhu Pingali (Photo by the Department of Global Development)