An ISU professor recently received international recognition for his contributions to the agricultural engineering field. Ramesh Kanwar, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, was one of two individuals named as an international fellow of the Indian National Academy of Agricultural Sciences on Nov. 27. Kanwar will receive the award during a ceremony in February. Kanwar also was honored Dec. 4 with the Distinguished Service Award from the Asian Association of Agricultural Engineering at the association’s 10th anniversary celebration. “Dr. Kanwar has been very active in international service and we’re glad that he has received these awards,” said Stewart Melvin, professor and chairman of agricultural and biosystems engineering.Kanwar serves as the director of the ISU Water Research Institute and assistant director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station.While both honors were gratifying, being named a fellow of the NAAS was particularly special because it is “typically given on the basis of distinguished record over the years,” Kanwar said. “It was a pleasant surprise.”Fellow honors are given to any international scientist who has contributed to the science and agriculture field in India, Kanwar said, and they are based on many factors.Kanwar said he has contributed to the development of collaborative projects between Iowa State and Indian professors over the past three years. Prior to coming to the United States, he said he spent six years working in India.

The overall purpose of the NAAS is to develop programs to strengthen scientific activities and bring international scientists together, Kanwar said.Like the NAAS, the AAAE promotes the agricultural engineering profession throughout the world, Kanwar said. Although Kanwar, a founding member of AAAE, served as vice president for four years and has been on the association’s editorial board for the past nine years, he said the Distinguished Service Award was another surprise. The honor was bestowed on him at an international conference in Bangkok, he said. “I think it’s good recognition for the university,” he said, “That’s how I look at it.” Melvin said recognition like Kanwar’s brings prestige, and therefore students, to the university. “Something like this always attracts graduate students eventually,” he said. “We take it seriously the fact that we are making impacts in many different places. We may be known more in other countries than we are right here in Iowa.”