BASRA, Amarjit S(ingh) 1958-

PERSONAL: Born July 13, 1958, in Chiheru, Punjab, India; son of Joginder Singh and Harbans Kaur (Bajwa) Basra; married Ranjit Kaur (a university professor), April 14, 1983; children: Sukhmani Kaur, Nishchayjit Singh. Ethnicity: "Sikh." Education: Guru Nanak Dev University, B.Sc. (with honors), 1978, M.Sc. (with honors), 1979; Punjab Agricultural University, Ph.D., 1982. Politics: "Humanitarian." Religion: Sikh. Hobbies and other interests: Travel, music, poetry, promotion of world cultures and peace.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Botany, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, Punjab, India; fax: 91-161-400-945.

CAREER: Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India, assistant professor, 1983-92, associate professor of botany, beginning 1992. University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury, research fellow, 1983-85; Wageningen Agricultural University, senior research fellow, 1989; University of California—Davis, visiting scientist. International Parliament for Safety and Peace, deputy member of assembly.

MEMBER: International Society for Plant Molecular Biology, Society for the Promotion of Plant Science Research (founding member), Indian Society of Developmental Biologists, American Association of Plant Physiologists, Crop Science Society of America, Australian Society of Plant Physiologists.

AWARDS, HONORS: Medal for Young Scientists, Indian National Science Academy, 1987; Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Memorial Prize for Agricultural Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, 1988; exchange grant, Rotary International, 1988; decorated knight of the German Lofsensic Order, Templar Order, Order of the Holy Grail, 1992; honorary graduate medal, Antelope Valley College, Lancaster, CA; diplôme d'honneur, Institut des Affaires Internationales, Paris, France.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) Mechanisms of Plant Growth and Improved Productivity: Modern Approaches, Marcel Dekker (New York, NY), 1994.

(Editor and contributor) Stress-Induced Gene Expression in Plants, Harwood (Chur, Switzerland), 1995.

(Editor) Seed Quality: Basic Mechanisms and Agricultural Implications, Food Products Press (Binghamton, NY), 1995.

(Editor, with Ranjit K. Basra) Mechanisms of Environmental Stress Resistance in Plants, Harwood Academic (Amsterdam, Netherlands), 1997.

(Editor) Crop Sciences: Recent Advances, Food Products Press (New York, NY), 1998.

(Editor) Cotton Fibers: Developmental Biology, Quality Improvement, and Textile Processing, Food Products Press (New York, NY), 1999.

(Editor and contributor) Heterosis and Hybrid Seed Production in Agronomic Crops, Food Products Press (New York, NY), 1999.

(Editor) Hybrid Seed Production in Vegetables: Rationale and Methods in Selected Crops, Food Products Press (New York, NY), 2000.

(Editor) Crop Responses and Adaptations to Temperature Stress, Food Products Press (New York, NY), 2000.

(Editor) Plant Growth Regulators in Agriculture and Horticulture: Their Role and Commercial Uses, Food Products Press (New York, NY), 2000.

(Editor, with L. S. Randhawa) Quality Improvement in Field Crops, Food Products Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor of more than eighty articles to scientific journals, including Journal of New Seeds. Founding editor, Journal of Crop Production, 1997, and Journal of Plant Science Research.

SIDELIGHTS: Amarjit S. Basra once told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is to serve the information needs of the plant science community, to advance the knowledge that will improve people's food and livelihood security, and to strive for conservation of global natural resources. I am inspired by a deep, inner need to engage in creative work to produce and synthesize literature of lasting value. The most powerful movers for my writing process are the brilliance and strength of an idea, a clear understanding of the issues involved, stimulating company and environment, and tranquility of mind and nature."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice, January, 1996, L. C. Ewart, review of Seed Quality: Basic Mechanisms and Agricultural Implications, p. 816; September, 2001, J. Hancock, review of Crop Responses and Adaptations to Temperature Stress, p. 145.

Quarterly Review of Biology, December, 1998, Allen Keast, review of Crop Sciences: Recent Advances, p. 509.

Science Books and Films, October, 1998, review of Crop Sciences, p. 207.

SciTech Book News, March, 1998, review of Mechanisms of Environmental Stress Resistance in Plants, p. 95; June, 1998, review of Crop Sciences, p. 102; June, 2001, review of Plant Growth Regulators in Agriculture and Horticulture: Their Role and Commercial Uses and Crop Responses and Adaptations to Temperature Stress, p. 127.

ONLINE

E-Streams: Electronic Reviews of Science and Technology,http://www.e-streams.com (February, 2001), review of Hybrid Seed Production in Vegetables: Rationale and Methods in Selected Crops; (August, 2001), review of Crop Responses and Adaptations to Temperature Stress.*