Mithila Jugulam named director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont
Seasoned researcher to advance strategic priorities in region, beyond
Mithila Jugulam, Ph.D., has been selected as director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont and named professor in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. She will begin her new role Oct. 1.
Jugulam will supervise all aspects of the operation of the center and its associated research. She will work to advance the strategic priorities of the center and Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Her responsibilities will include the development and administration of a nationally recognized research program that addresses regional needs and priorities.
She will replace current Center Director Ted Wilson, Ph.D., who will return full time to his professorship and role conducting leading-edge research in Beaumont.
“I am so excited to join the Texas A&M AgriLife family and contribute to its continued success,” she said. “There is immense opportunity to advance agriculture, natural resources and life sciences in this part of Texas, and I’m eager to begin.”
Advancing strategic priorities
The center at Beaumont has long served as an authority in rice production. Along with development of increasingly resilient rice cultivars, the center’s strategic priorities include developing new knowledge that expands the frontiers of rice and associated crop research for agricultural improvement, sustainability and human health.
“I am elated to welcome a center director of Dr. Jugulam’s considerable expertise,” said G. Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., director of AgriLife Research. “A researcher and administrator of her caliber signals potential for great advancement of healthy lives and livelihoods for the region surrounding Beaumont and far beyond.”
Jugulam will work to develop and implement production and management innovations that enhance the economic, environmental and social sustainability of Texas, the U.S., and international rice production while improving global food security. She also will conduct research in support of a nationally and internationally recognized program in weed science.
A career in research
Jugulam joins AgriLife Research from her previous position as professor of weed physiology and molecular biology at Kansas State University.
She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agriculture in India and worked as a scientist with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research before earning a doctoral degree and taking postdoctoral training at the University of Guelph, Canada.
Her research program is internationally recognized for advancing the understanding of the evolution and fundamental mechanisms of herbicide resistance in weeds. She has also investigated the impact of climate change on herbicide efficacy and in identifying herbicide-resistant traits in crops. She is an award-winning teacher of graduate and undergraduate courses in herbicide physiology and herbicide resistance.
Jugulam has served as the major or co-major advisor for 17 master’s and doctoral students and has trained 19 postdoctoral fellows and visiting scholars. Her accolades include a Fulbright Specialist Award and Outstanding Researcher Award from Weed Science Society of America, WSSA; Distinguished Achievement Research Award from North Central Weed Science Society, NCWSS; Presidential Award of Merit from Western Society of Weed Science, WSWS; Distinguished Faculty Award from Gamma Sigma Delta; Kansas State University Outstanding Scientist Award from Sigma Xi and Gamma Sigma Delta College of Agriculture Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award.
Jugulam has authored or co-authored over 110 peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals, accumulating over 3,700 citations. She has been invited to present her research at various institutions across the U.S. and internationally. Currently, she is the co-editor-in-chief of the journal Pest Management Science and serves on the editorial boards of several international journals. Jugulam is also an active member of several professional societies, including WSSA, International Weed Science Society, WSWS, NCWSS and American Chemical Society.
