Kalidas Shetty, professor of food science at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and former Jefferson Fellow for the U.S. Department of State, will give a presentation titled “Internationalization of Higher Education and the Innovation Economy: Emerging Global Partnerships” at 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, in the Memorial Union Century Theater at North Dakota State University.

His presentation will focus on how U.S. higher education can build effective collaborations around the world, how to advance research and education related to global food security and safety, and business opportunities related to food science and nutrition.

“Dr. Shetty is performing groundbreaking work on aligning agriculture, food science, nutrition and public health in response to some of the most daunting challenges of the world – delivery and food security for an ever-expanding global population now in excess of seven billion people,” said NDSU Provost Bruce Rafert. “His presentation will address many aspects of the thriving agricultural enterprise we have in North Dakota.”

Shetty earned his bachelor of science in applied microbiology from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore, India. He earned his master’s degree and doctorate in microbiology from the University of Idaho, Moscow.

He pursued postdoctoral studies in plant biotechnology at the National Institute of Agro-Biological Sciences in Japan and the University of Guelph in Canada. He joined the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1993 as assistant professor of food biotechnology.

In 1998, Shetty was awarded the Asia-Pacific Clinical Nutrition Society Award for his contributions to the areas of phytochemicals, functional foods and human health based on his understanding of Asian food traditions and traditional food systems. He was awarded the Outstanding Research and Creativity Award at the University of Massachusetts in 2006.

In October 2003, the U.S. Department of State created the Jefferson Science Fellows program to bring academic knowledge into the implementation of U.S. foreign policy. Shetty was named inaugural Jefferson Science Fellow in 2004. In this role, he was a science adviser on foreign policy issues for one year at the State Department. Following the fellowship, he served as a resource to the State Department for an additional five years.

For more information on the presentation, contact the Provost's Office at 231-7131.