Dr. Gajendra Singh, Editor, Citizens Publishing

GAJENDRA SINGH graduated in 1966 from the G B Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar in India. He received his Master's degree from the Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey, USA in 1968 and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis in 1973.

Dr. Singh served on the faculty of the G B Pant University of Agriculture & Technology, Pantnagar, India from July 1973 to June 1975. He joined the Asian institute of Technology (AIT) as an Assistant Professor in June 1975. In January 1978, he was promoted to Associate Professor and in April 1984 to full Professor. During 1975-77 he worked with his colleagues to create a new Division of Agricultural & Food Engineering and the Division was officially established in July 1977. Dr. Singh was appointed its Chairman in August 1977 and served in this capacity till 1984. He again served as Chairman/Program Coordinator during 1989 to 1994 and during 1998 to 2001.He took sabbatical leave from AIT and served on the faculty of the Rutgers University, New Jersey, from November 1984 to July 1986 and was awarded tenure as a permanent faculty.

While still at Rutgers Prof. Singh was appointed as Vice President at AIT. During 1986 to 1988, he served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs of AIT. He was responsible for overall academic administration and planning including appointments and promotion of faculty and senior staff, allocation of financial resources and human resources development. He led teams to establish a School of Management to offer MBA degrees, and post graduate programs in telecommunications and biotechnology. During 2001 to 2004, Dr. Gajendra Singh served as Dean of AIT Extension at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. He was responsible for short-term training courses (including study visits) and consultancy in education management; development and business management; information and communications technology; environment, infrastructure and urban development; and agriculture, natural resources and rural development.

The Asian Institute of Technology is an international post-graduate institute of higher learning located near Bangkok International airport, Thailand. It has over 2000 students from over 50 countries. Its alumni of over 13,000 represent over 70 countries. Having joined AIT in 1975 when it was a very small institute Prof. Singh has been very closely associated with its development. He has been chairman/member of many committees related to planning and development of academic curriculum and physical infrastructure like housing, academic and research facilities, library, sports, computing and networking facilities. Prof. Singh was elected as the first faculty member to serve as the chairman of the Academic Senate. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the AIT and various committees of the Board including Executive Committee, Policy and Planning Committee, Students Relations Committee, Faculty Relations Committee, Honorary Degree Committee. He also served as Chairman/member of Academic Development and Review Committee, Institute Council, Faculty Appointments and Promotions Panel, Establishment Committee, Finance Committee and Chair of School Forum.

Prof. Singh served the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi as Deputy Director General (Engineering) from December 1994 to December 1997. He was responsible for the management of six ICAR research institutes and 10 All India Coordinated Research Projects and through these he was responsible for policy and planning of research and education in agricultural engineering, post harvest technology, fibre technology and statistics at national level. He was also the in-charge of developing the Agricultural Research Information System (ARIS) Network linking 30 state agricultural universities and 89 ICAR research institutes and their sub-stations electronically through Internet. During 1995-97 he also served on the Board of Management of the G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology and represented ICAR on various committees of AICTE. He also served on many committees of the Government of India.

Prof. Singh's fields of interest are sustainable development, agricultural and rural development, agricultural engineering, mechanization, education management, application of systems techniques and development of management information systems for rural communities. He has worked on a number of sponsored research projects funded by USAID, IDRC of Canada, the Netherlands Government, Royal Thai Government, ICIMOD, Solcoor Inc., GRID-United Nations Environment Programme and SEAPO-CDG of Germany.

Prof. Singh has published 86 papers in journals, 12 invited papers, 53 papers in proceedings; edited proceedings of six international conferences; five research reports, 12 consultancy and technical reports; co-

author of one book, three chapters in books, and one manual; and presented more than 200 papers at national and international meetings and conferences. He is on the editorial board of four journals.

Prof. Singh has served as a consultant to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Economic and Social commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN and the European Economic Community (EEC).

Prof. Singh's professional affiliations include the Institution of Engineers, India (Fellow), the International Commission of Agricultural Engineering (Fellow), the American Society of Agricultural Engineers (Fellow), the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India (Fellow), the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers (Fellow), the Asian Association for Agricultural Engineering, and the Club of Bologna.

Prof. Singh was awarded the 1990 American Society of Agricultural Engineer's KISHIDA INTERNATIONAL AWARD for outstanding contributions to food and fiber production, improved living and education; the 1991 EMIL MRAK INTERNATIONAL AWARD by the University of California, Davis for distinguished career; the 1994-95 GOLD MEDAL by the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers; and the 1997 Most Distinguished Alumni Award by the G B Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar. He was elected as the first President of the Asian Association for Agricultural Engineering (AAAE) founded in December 1990 and was re-elected to serve for the second term. He is a member of the Management Committee of the Club of Bologna. He served on the Board of Trustees of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers during 1998-2000 and on the Executive Board of the International Commission of Agricultural Engineering during 1995-98.