National Academy of Agricultural Sciences

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]