Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 31 May 21, 1998 - DeDatta honored by University of Hawaii

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DeDatta honored by University of Hawaii

By Catherine Doss

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 31 - May 21, 1998

S.K. DeDatta, director of the Office of International Research and Development (OIRD) and associate dean in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been honored as outstanding alumnus for the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) of the University of Hawaii.
The annual award is the highest bestowed by the college and recognizes alumni for leadership and achievements in the food and agricultural sciences.
DeDatta graduated from the University of Hawaii with a Ph.D. in soil science in 1962 and has since dedicated his career to international agriculture, particularly to the rice industry. He has contributed to training rice-production specialists throughout the tropics and initiated international research programs that have benefited tropical rice-producing countries all over the world. His contributions in fertilizer-use technology and soil and crop management have had an impact in rice-growing areas world wide.
In addition, DeDatta has authored and edited numerous books and published more than 350 journal articles. He has been recognized with a number honors in the U.S. and abroad as an agricultural scientist, including the Normal Borlaug Award for Outstanding Contribution to Agricultural Sciences and Green Revolution in India in 1992.
OIRD engages in donor-funded projects focusing on global problems with local implications: environmental policy and management, sustainable agriculture, and the equitable development of market economies. DeDatta joined Virginia Tech in 1991. Under his direction, OIRD has grown to its current portfolio of contracts and grants of about $22 million and has helped Virginia Tech attain a ranking within the top five of National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) funds for international agricultural projects.
DeDatta traveled to the University of Hawaii in Manoa to accept the award last month. While there he gave a keynote address and invitational seminar on international research and development.