Welcome to Agri Vision-2024
Dr. Jorge Gardea-Torresdey is the Richard Dudley Professor of Environmental Science & Engineering and Professor of Chemistry at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). Dr. Gardea-Torresdey joined UTEP in January of 1994. Within two years of joining UTEP as a faculty member, he became the Director of the Environmental Science and Engineering PhD Program, an administrative position he held until 2003. In 2001, he became Chair of the Chemistry Department at UTEP. For 17 years, he guided the growth of the department, both in research and in the expansion of program offerings. The addition of a Biochemistry BS, a Chemistry PhD degree, and a new state-of-the-art building are examples of his leadership efforts.
Dr. Gardea-Torresdey’s research group was recognized as the first to discover the production of gold and silver nanoparticles in biological systems (Gardea-Torresdey, J.L. et al. (2002) Nano Lett 2/4 (397-401); Gardea-Torresdey J.L., et, al. (2003). Langmuir 19(4), 1357-1367)). This discovery has been highlighted by important organizations including Nature and the Lawrence Hall of Science of the University of California Berkeley, among others.
Dr. Gardea-Torresdey is a world leader in environmental nanotechnology and is a key investigator who has authored over 500 publications; he has received five US patents for projects in environmental remediation. He has been the UTEP PI of three major multi-institution research centers on nanotechnology: (1) the $48,000,000 NSF University of California Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (UC CEIN, UCLA, leading institution; Dr. Andre Nel, Center PI), (2) the $18,500,000 NSF ERC Center for Off-Grid Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT, Rice University, leading institution; Dr. Pedro Alvarez, Center PI), and (3) the $480,000 USDA Center to Enhance Micronutrient Use Efficiency and Increase Crop Yield using nanotechnology (Connecticut Agricultural Experimental Station, leading institution; Dr. Jason White, Center PI).The scientific contributions of Dr. Gardea-Torresdey have allowed him to receive many honors throughout his professional life. Among other awards, he has received the UTEP’s Graduate Mentor Award (2016), the 2009 SACNAS Distinguished Scientist of the Year Award, and the 2012 Piper Professor Award, which is one of the most prestigious honors conferred to a professor in the State of Texas. Very recently, Dr. Gardea-Torresdey received the distinguished 2018 University of Texas System’s STARs Retention Award, which is perhaps the highest honor conferred to a faculty member in the University of Texas System.
Dr. Gardea-Torresdey has a strong record of teaching and training undergraduate and graduate students. He has graduated 46 PhD Students (34 in Environmental Science and Engineering, 11 in Chemistry and 1 in Material Science & Engineering) and 37 students have received their M.Sc. degrees under his mentorship. Moreover, he has mentored more than 35 undergraduate students in research. Dr. Gardea-Torresdey has graduated more PhD students in STEM fields than any professor in UTEP’s history. His experience mentoring women and underrepresented minorities, particularly Hispanics, has been an ideal fit for UTEP’s mission as one of the largest minority serving universities in the continental US.
Aside from his prestigious academic achievements, Dr. Gardea-Torresdey has been deeply involved in the scientific publishing business for over a decade. He began his career in this field as an Editor of the Journal of Hazardous Materials from 2007 to 2010. In January 1, 2011 he was appointed Associate Editor of Environmental Science &Technology, which is ranked # 1 in the world in the fields of Environmental Sciences and Environmental Engineering. He still holds this position and is known internally for his uncanny ability to pick articles that will be of great interest to the general public.
In 2018, Dr. Gardea-Torresdey and Dr. White published a paper in Nature Nanotechnology wherein the problem of future food security was outlined (White, J. C., Gardea-Torresdey, J. L. 2018. Nature Nanotechnology 13, 621-629). With a projected global population of 9.7 billion by 2050, agricultural production will need to increase by up to 60 percent. His findings on the application of nanotechnology in agriculture and water treatment has the potential to contribute to address this significant challenge. Therefore, his efforts have made a significant contribution to society.
Equally important, Dr. Gardea-Torresdey’s impact in his students’ lives is his most cherished accomplishment. Through his help and careful mentoring he has positively impacted the lives of many underrepresented minorities and women in STEM. He is extremely proud and humbled by his students’ success and their accomplishments in their respective fields. He maintains contact with many of his former students and welcomes news of their endeavors.