USA: Dr Girish K Panicker (Honey), director of the Center for Conservation Research, Mississippi, an authority on C-factor (cover and management) research and an internationally renowned agricultural scientist, had the privilege of exhibiting his research findings on organic fruit production recently at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C, the largest educational, research and museum complex in the world.  (Website:  http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smithsonian Museum)

Dr. Girish’s presentation was a part of the Smithsonian Festival’s program commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the US land-grant universities and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), established by the then president Abraham Lincoln in 1862. Dr. Girish’s organic research work on horticultural crops in collaboration with US Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA/NRCS), and several other national research institutions has made tremendous progress with an investment of $1.8 million.

Last November, he was invited by the ICAR to present a technology transfer paper on “C-factor research on horticultural crops for erosion prediction, nutrient management, and conservation planning” at the international conference on ‘Innovative Approaches for Agricultural Knowledge Management: Global Extension Experiences’ held in New Delhi, which was inaugurated by the President of India, Smt. Pratihba Patil at Vigyan Bhavan.

A native of Thiruvananthapuram and an alumnus of the Mississippi State University, Dr. Girish is a nationally Certified Professional Agronomist (CPAg) and does free consultancy services to several universities and research organizations around the globe. His federally funded Conservation Research Center has the world’s largest C-factor data bank on horticultural crops with work done on 37 crops at an investment of more than $5 million. The information generated concentrates on erosion prediction, nutrient management and conservation planning as well prevention of soil erosion and climate change. His advanced research methodologies on sustainable and organic production practices with plant and animal residues for a healthier environment are being podcasted globally by the American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS), American Society of Agronomy, International Society for Horticultural Science, USDA, and e-Organic-e-Extension. Invited by the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), Belgium, Dr. Girish represented the US twice to deliver lectures on conservation research on horticultural crops at its 26th and 27th International Horticultural Congresses held in Toronto, Canada, and Seoul, South Korea, respectively. He is a member of several national and international agricultural societies and has served as the chairman of the National Committee for Publication Awards of the ASHS and chairman of the division of Agriculture, Mississippi Academy of Sciences. Currently, he is an advisory committee member of the US National Organic Farming Research Foundation. For his valuable contributions, dedication and remarkable services in conservation field on three continents: Asia, Africa and the North America,  Dr. Girish received the 2011 Pride of India Award (Bharat Gaurav) in New Delhi, during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
Late Sukumara Panicker and Pankajam Panicker are his parents. Late Kozhencherry V. K. Padmanabhan’s daughter Rani (state university) is his wife, and his daughter Gem is a student of the University of Mississippi.