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.

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