Surya L Shrestha
Position: Assistant ProfessorOrganization: Tennessee Tech University
Department: School of Agriculture, Cookeville, TN
Office: Oakley Hall 028
Email: sshrestha@tntech.edu
Phone: (931) 372-3197
Area of Interests
- Varietal improvement, conventional and molecular plant breeding, agronomic and physiological trait-based selection, biotic and abiotic stress physiology, disease identification and screening, and microbial analyses
Education
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2014 Doctor of Philosophy
Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA - Major - Crop Science
- Dissertation - Improving drought tolerance in wheat with physiological and molecular tools
- Supervisor - Dr. Scot H. Hulbert
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2008 Master of Science
North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA - Major - Agriculture/Plant Pathology
- Thesis - Blemish diseases of potato tubers - cause, inoculum source and management
- Supervisor - Dr. Gary Secor
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2003 Bachelor of Science
Tribhuvan University, Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Chitwan, Nepal - Major - Agriculture/Soil Science
Experience
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2025.08 - present Assistant Professor
Tennessee Tech University, School of Agriculture, Cookeville, TN -
2025.01 - 2025.07 Agricultural Scientist
Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Nashville, TN -
2023.08 - 2024.04 Research Scholar
North Carolina State University, Department of Horticultural Science, Kannapolis, NC -
2019.11 - 2023.07 Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Tennessee, Department of Plant Science, Knoxville, TN -
2019.08 - 2019.12 Adjunct Faculty
Pellissippi State Community College, Hardin Valley Campus, Knoxville, TN -
2014.12 - 2017.05 Soybean Breeder
Bayer CropScience, Marion, AR -
2014.09 - 2014.11 Postdoctoral Research Associate
Texas A&M University, AgriLife Center, Uvalde, TX -
2014.02 - 2014.08 Research Associate
Washington State University, Department of Crop and Soil Science, Pullman, WA -
2009.01 - 2014.01 Graduate Research Assistant
Washington State University, Department of Crop and Soil Science, Pullman, WA -
2006.08 - 2008.12 Graduate Research Assistant
North Dakota State University, Department of Plant Pathology, Fargo, ND -
2004.01 - 2006.07 Research Assistant
Regional Office of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Kathmandu, Nepal
Honors and Awards
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2010-2012 - Monsanto’s Beachell-Borlaug International Scholarship
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2012 - Travel award, ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH
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2010 - Travel award, short course on “Plant breeding for drought tolerance” at Colorado State University, Fort Colins, CO
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2009, 2011 - Harry E. Goldsworthy Wheat Research Fund Award
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2008 - Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi
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2000 - ‘Aishwarya Vidhya Padak’ scholastic medal for academic excellence by Her Majesty the Queen of Nepal