Professor (Dr) Rajendra Prasad was born on 1 January 1936 at Haidarabad, Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, India. Dr Prasad fetched his M.Sc. (Agriculture) (1956) degree from the Agra University, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, and Ph.D. degree (1961) from the Mississippi State University, Starkville, Mississippi, USA. He is a scientist, teacher, administrator and author of over 55 years of experience in the field of Agronomy and provided services to the nation independently and through his students. Dr Prasad has published over 300 research papers in national and international journals of repute and also participated in a number of national and international seminars/conferences/congresses etc. Prof Prasad worked in various capacities like Assistant Agronomist, Mississippi State University (1961), Assistant Professor of Agronomy (1963-64), Agronomist (1964-73), Professor of Agronomy (1973-83 and 1986-91), Head, Division of Agronomy (1983-86 and 1991-95), ICAR National Professor (1996-2000), and INSA Senior Scientist (2004-05), ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. He was also visiting Scientist, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA, 1993; and UNESCO Consultant to SR Vietnam (1986, 1987). Prof Prasad is the recipient of numerous national awards including Hooker Award of the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (New Delhi), the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (New Delhi), and the Silver Jubilee Award of the Fertiliser Association of India (New Delhi) for his outstanding contributions in soil fertility and fertilizer nitrogen management. Prof Prasad was bestowed with the Indian Society of Agronomy Gold Medal 1995 and also Lifetime Achievement Award by the Indian Society of Agronomy, 2012. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (India). Dr Prasad also served the Indian Society of Agronomy (1975-78) as Secretary and as Vice President and Executive Chairman (1979-80). He was Editor-in-Chief, Indian Journal of Agronomy during 2011-16 and a member of Editorial Board of the Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science, Berlin. Dr Prasad has taught a course on soil fertility and its management at the ICAR-IARI for over 30 years and has guided over 32 students for Ph.D. degrees in agronomy. Dr Prasad grew up in India and now live with his family in Buffalo, New York, USA.Y.S. Shivay was born on 1 December 1966 at Fuldehra, Uttar Pradesh. He received his education at the Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur and the Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, for his B.Sc. (Ag. & AH) (1986), M.Sc. (1989) and Ph.D. (1995) degrees. Dr Shivay is an excellent scientist and teacher, having experience of more than 29 years in the field of Agronomy. He is a skilled writer too. He has worked as Scientist (1991-2000), Senior Scientist (2000-08) and Principal Scientist (2008 to date), at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India. Dr Shivay also served as Professor, at the Division of Agronomy of this institute during 2015 to 2018. He was nominated visiting Scientist at the Zhejiang University, PR China during 1998-99, and also at The Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway during 2003-04 and 2008. Dr Shivay has been bestowed with many national and international awards/honours, viz. Chinese Government Scholarship 1998-99 through Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India; Norwegian Government Scholarship 2003-04 through Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India; Distinguished Scientist Award 2009; ICAR-IARI Best Teacher Award 2009; FAI Golden Jubilee Award 2012; FAI Shriram Puraskar 2012, 2015, 2017; SAP Gold Medal 2015; IZA-FAI Award 2016. He was elected as Organizing Secretary for the 4th International Agronomy Congress 2016. Dr Shivay received Letter of Appreciation for Imparting the Teaching and Research Guidance to the ANASTU Students from Islamic Republic of Afghanistan 2016, 2018 and 2019. He also received The Falvey Award 2016, ICAR Bharat Ratna Dr C. Subramaniam Award for Outstanding Teachers 2018 and Best Poster Award XIV Agricultural Science Congress. Dr Shivay is a Fellow of the Indian Society of Agronomy, Indian Society of Plant Physiology and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (India). He also served as the Secretary of the Indian Society of Agronomy during 2015-19 and as treasurer for 1995-96. Dr Shivay has over 26 years experience of teaching on soil fertility and its management at the ICAR-IARI, New Delhi and has guided more than 17 students for obtaining their M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Agronomy. His students are at senior positions in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Central Agricultural Universities in India. Students, teachers and scientists are always in demand for his published work for updating their knowledge.
