About myself.....
I am Dwarika Bhattarai, Ph. D. graduate from the Department of Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science at South Dakota State University (SDSU), Brookings, SD. I did my MS in Plant Science from the same university and my BS in Agriculture from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Lamjung Campus, Tribhuwan University, Nepal. Besides, I have completed the Data Science graduate certificate program from SDSU.
My research interests include soil health, regenerative agriculture, remote sensing, precision agriculture, soil DNA analysis, data analysis, and machine learning. I have experience in experimental design, doing phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis to quantify soil microbial biomass, soil DNA extraction and qPCR, gel electrophoresis, and data analysis. In addition, I possess sUAV remote pilot license and have experience flying sUAVs with hyperspectral sensors to monitor crops and soil conditions. Before pursuing my graduate program, I worked as a program coordinator at a local non-government organization in Nepal that focused on a livelihood restoration program for 2015 earthquake victims in Nepal.
My future goal is to promote sustainable agriculture while working closely with farmers and stakeholders across the globe.
Dwarika Bhattarai
Research Associate II
Agronomy, Horticulture, and Plant Science Department
Raven Precision Ag Center Room 212
South Dakota State Univerity, Brookings, SD 57007
Email: dwarika.bhattarai@sdstate.edu