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Cornell University

Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition

Dr. Andrew McDonald


Andrew McDonald is an associate professor in the Soil and Crop Science Section of the School of Integrative Plant Science. As a cropping systems ecologist, he addresses global challenges to agricultural sustainability and food security through process-based agronomy, integrated systems analysis, development of decision frameworks, and by fostering alliances for technology scaling. Much of Andy’s current research program is anchored in South Asia, where he previously led CIMMYT’s sustainable intensification program. Current areas of research include managing tradeoffs at the nexus of food, energy, water, and air quality; identification and assessment of resilience strategies for coping with monsoon variability; building a soil intelligence system for selected states in India; and developing ‘big data’ reconnaissance networks for technology targeting and investment prioritization. His program emphasizes collaborations with policy, applied social sciences, water resources, and climate domains.