Dr. Muthukumar Bagavathiannan
Billie Turner Professor of Agronomy
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
Texas A&M University,
College Station, Texas 77843, USA

Dr. Bagavathiannan is the Billie Turner Professor of Agronomy at the
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College
Station, TX. He conducted his postdoctoral research in the area of weed biology and herbicide resistance modeling at the University of Arkansas, prior to his appointment as an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University in 2014. He received his PhD at the University of Manitoba, Canada; an MS in Plant Genetic Manipulation at the University of Nottingham, England; an MSc in Agronomy at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), India; and a BS in Agriculture at TNAU.

Dr. Bagavathiannan’s research interests fall within the broader area of Weed Science and Systems Agronomy, with the aim of improving the efficiency and productivity of agronomic cropping systems in the US and internationally. In particular, he uses digital technologies and precision tools to improve the efficiency of weed management and other agricultural inputs. He specializes in inter-disciplinary research, by collaborating broadly with Biologists, Engineers, and Social Scientists at the local, regional, national, and international levels. He is an active member of leading professional societies in the field of weed science and agronomy. He has secured >10 million dollars in extramural grants and contracts that directly supported his research program.

Dr. Bagavathiannan has so far mentored (as the major advisor/co-advisor) 10 PhD students, 4 MS students, 6 Postdoctoral Researchers, 3 Research Assistants, 6 Visiting Scholars, 14 Student Interns, and 23 Undergraduate Researchers; and is currently mentoring 16 PhD students, 2 MS students, 1 Postdoctoral Researcher, 2 Research Assistants, 4 Student Interns, and 6 Undergraduate Researchers. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles with >5,000 citations, a h-index of 35, and an i10 index of 98. He has reviewed numerous articles for various professional journals and has been serving as the Associate Editor for the Weed Science Journal, published by WSSA.

Dr. Bagavathiannan was selected as a recipient of the 2023 Alexander Von Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Scholars (German Government), the 2023 AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research, the 2022 AgriLife Director’s Outstanding Scientist of the Year Award, the 2021 Southern Weed Science Society Outstanding Young Scientist Award, the 2021 TAMU Chancellors EDGES’ Award, the 2020 Weed Science Society of America Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award, the 2020 AgriLife Vice Chancellor’s Award in Early Career Research, and the 2018 AgriLife Dean’s Outstanding Early Career Research Award.