Dr. Digvir Singh Jayas
FOREIGN FELLOW, ELECTED 2011
Born in Mant (Mathura), India on 10 January 1958. Educated at Shri Braj Adarsh Inter College, Mant, 1968-74; G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, 1974-80; University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada, 1980-82; University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, 1982-87; B.Tech. Agric. Eng. 1980; M.Sc. 1982; Ph.D. 1987; D.Sc. 2019.
President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, 2023 to date. Vice-President (Research and Internatioanl) Emeritus and Distinguished Professor (Emeritus), University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, 2023 to date.
Assistant Professor Agricultural Engineering 1985-89; Associate Professor Agricultural Engineering 1989-93; Professor Biosystems Engineering 1993-97; Head Biosystems Engineering, 1997-99; Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, 1999-01; Interim Director, Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, 2004-05; Associate Vice-President (Research), 2001-09; Vice-President (Research and International), 2009-22; Canada Research Chair in Stored-Grain Ecosystems, 2002-09. Interim President, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, 2018-19. Interim Director (CEO), TRIUMF - Canada's Particle Accelerator Centre, 2021.
Awards/Honours: American Society of Agricultural Engineers Young Researcher Award, 1994; Canadian Society for Agricultural Engineering Young Agricultural Engineer of the Year Award, 1995; Association of Professional Engineers of Manitoba Merit Award, 1996; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Agcellence Award, 2001; Canadian Society for Agricultural Engineering John Clark Award, 2001; Sigma Xi, Senior Scientist Award, 2001; Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology Institute Award, 2003; Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology W.J. Eva Award, 2004; Manitoba Institute of Agrologists Distinguished Agrologist Award, 2007; Canadian Society for Bioengineering Maple Leaf Award, 2007; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Brockhouse Canada Prize, 2008; Dr. John M. Bowman Memorial Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation Award, 2008; Engineers Canada Meritorious Service Award for Professional Service, 2008; Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India, 2016; Sukup Global Food Security Award, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2017; Order of Canada (Officer) for "advancements to agricultural practices worldwide, and for promotion of academic and scientific research in Canada", 2018; Dr. S. S. Misra Lifetime Achievement Award, Applied Zoologists Research Association, (AZRA), Bhubaneswar, India, 2019; Sir John William Dawson Medal, the Royal Society of Canada, 2019; John Ogilvie Research Innovation Award for "innovation and/or ingenuity related to horizontal airflow grain dryer", Canadian Society for Bioengineering, 2019; Doctor of Science (earned), University of Saskatchewan, 2019; K.Y. Lo Medal for "significant engineering contributions at the international level", Engineering Institute of Canada, 2019; Leadership Award, Engineers and Geoscientists Manitoba (formerly Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba), 2021; John Ogilvie Research Innovation Award for "innovation and/or ingenuity related to mathematical models of stored-grain ecosystems for management of stored grains", Canadian Society for Bioengineering, 2021; inducted as an Honorary Fellow of Applied Zoologists Research Association (AZRA), India, 2021; Alumni of Influence Award, Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, 2022; inducted into Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame, 2022; Engineers Canada Gold Medal for exceptional individual achievement and distinction in a field of engineering, 2022; Inducted as a Fellow of Canadian Society of Senior Engineers, 2022; Inducted into Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame, 2022. Inducted as a Fellow of the SigmaXi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, 2023; John Ogilvie Research Innovation Award for “innovation and/or ingenuity related to detection of insects in stored grains”, Canadian Society for Bioengineering, 2023; Life-time Achievement Award, India Canada Culture and Heritage Association, Inc. (ICCHA), 2023; John Deere Gold Medal, American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2023; Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration, Institute for Public Administration Canada (IPAC), 2023; Lifetime Achievement Award, The Society of Tropical Agriculture, India, 2023; Dr. V. Subrahmanyan Endowment Lecture Award, National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management, Thanjavur, 2023.
Fellow: Sigma Xi; Royal Society of Canada; Agriculture Institute of Canada; Engineering Institute of Canada; Engineers Canada; Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology; Canadian Academy of Engineering; Canadian Society for Bioengineering; American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers; Fellow and Honorary Fellow Applied Zoologists Research Association, India; National Acadaemy of Sciences, India; Honorray Fellow Geoscientists Canada; Candian Society of Senior Engineers.
Research Areas: Physical properties of agricultural products; modified atmosphere storage of grains, oilseeds, potatoes, and meats; mathematical modeling of biological systems; and digital image processing for grading and processing operations in the Agri-Food industry
Address: President’s Office, A762 University Hall, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, Alberta Canada, T1K 3M4, Canada; 65 Riverine Lane West, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1K 5V6, Canada; [Tel: Off. (001) 403 329 2201; Res. (001) 204 291 4505; Cell: (001) 403 593 2748; Fax: (001) 204 474 7512; Email: digvir.jayas@umanitoba.ca; president@uleth.ca]
