Assistant Professor
Minnesota State University, Mankato
140 Trafton Science Center South
Department of Biological Sciences
Mankato, MN 56001
United States
Department of Biological Sciences
Mankato, MN 56001
United States
(w) (507) 389-1423
About
Dr. Mriganka De is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the Minnesota State University (MNSU), Mankato (2020-present). He received his BS (2007) and MS (2009) degrees in Soil Science from India and a Ph.D. degree in Soil and Water Science from the University of Florida (2015). After finishing his Ph.D., he continued his academic career as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Idaho (2015-2017) and Iowa State University (2017-2020). The broad theme of his research is to harness soil ecology for enhanced ecosystem services with a focus on understanding soil nutrient cycling (e.g., carbon and nitrogen) and minimizing its losses (via. leaching, tile drainage, and surface runoff) to enhance productivity and environmental sustainability of agricultural systems employing different soil health management practices. These practices may include but are not limited to using annual and perennial cover crops, no-tillage, reduced tillage, crop rotations, manure, organic soil amendments, and crop-livestock integration. Dr. De’s Lab is involved in designing and conducting various field and laboratory-based experiments; all focused on soil health, soil biogeochemistry, sustainable crop production (e.g., corn, soybean, potato, sugar beet, oat, alfalfa, and perennial cover crops), and water quality. In addition to developing the research program at MNSU, he is responsible for teaching three lab-based soil science courses – Introductory Soil Science, Soil Ecology, and Healthy Soils for Sustainable Agriculture. Dr. De is designing a new undergraduate-level course on Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrients. At MNSU, he has served as the primary research advisor for ten undergraduate students and a graduate student and is currently serving as a Master’s thesis committee member for two graduate students.
He has published 13 peer-reviewed research articles, two book chapters, and one newsletter article and acted as a reviewer for more than 15 peer-reviewed Scientific Journals. He delivered eight invited talks, ten scholarly presentations, and 19 poster presentations at different professional meetings. Since 2017, he has submitted several research and outreach grant proposals with a total of ~$512K; of which, he successfully acquired ~$307K as PI, Co-PI, or senior personnel from state, regional, and federal competitive funding agencies, including MNSU-Undergraduate Research Center, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Iowa Nutrient Research Center, North Central Region – Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE), and USDA-NIFA.
His outreach efforts include presentations at professional meetings, field days, Masters’ Gardener training, Farm Progress Shows, Ag. Expo, Ag. Magazine reports, radio podcasts, educating high/middle school students, and one-on-one consultations with farmers, ranchers, industry personnel, and stakeholders. He collaborated with South Dakota State University, MN local farmers, and ranchers and obtained an NCR-SARE grant (Co-PI) titled: “Farm-to-Fork: Educating Youth in Sustainable Farming for Healthy Food and Healthy Environment.”
He has published 13 peer-reviewed research articles, two book chapters, and one newsletter article and acted as a reviewer for more than 15 peer-reviewed Scientific Journals. He delivered eight invited talks, ten scholarly presentations, and 19 poster presentations at different professional meetings. Since 2017, he has submitted several research and outreach grant proposals with a total of ~$512K; of which, he successfully acquired ~$307K as PI, Co-PI, or senior personnel from state, regional, and federal competitive funding agencies, including MNSU-Undergraduate Research Center, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Iowa Nutrient Research Center, North Central Region – Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE), and USDA-NIFA.
His outreach efforts include presentations at professional meetings, field days, Masters’ Gardener training, Farm Progress Shows, Ag. Expo, Ag. Magazine reports, radio podcasts, educating high/middle school students, and one-on-one consultations with farmers, ranchers, industry personnel, and stakeholders. He collaborated with South Dakota State University, MN local farmers, and ranchers and obtained an NCR-SARE grant (Co-PI) titled: “Farm-to-Fork: Educating Youth in Sustainable Farming for Healthy Food and Healthy Environment.”
Projects
| YENC21-165 | Farm-to-Fork: Educating Youth in Sustainable Agriculture for Healthy Food and a Healthy Environment |