College of Agriculture welcomes seven new faculty members for spring 2025

Angela Hancock, a recent addition to Purdue University’s botany department, earned a Ph.D. in human genetics from the University of Chicago. With training in quantitative genetics and evolutionary biology at both the University of Chicago and the Max F. Perutz Labs in Vienna, Austria, Hancock briefly led a research group in the Department of Structural and Computational Biology at the Max F. Perutz Labs, where she expanded and shaped her research team. Her work focuses on unraveling the genetic mechanisms behind species resilience to environmental challenges, blending computational and experimental approaches to explore adaptation to extreme environments. Hancock’s goal is to leverage this knowledge to address global challenges in conservation, agriculture and human health. Using a combination of high-throughput genomic and phenomic approaches and probabilistic modeling, Hancock is eager to work with students and postdoctoral researchers as well as other faculty at Purdue to develop tools and solve scientific puzzles. Outside of work, Hancock enjoys running, biking, hiking and skiing.

After working as an instructional designer, Brenna Decker is returning to higher education as a clinical assistant professor in Purdue University’s Department of Entomology. Her journey into the world of entomology began when she was a beekeeper at Lawrence University’s organic garden, sparking an interest in bee species and their interactions with environmental factors. Decker completed her M.S. at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied the impact of prescribed fire timing on bee communities and explored museum studies. To expand her molecular research skills, Decker earned a Ph.D. from Utah State University, focusing on phylogenomics, biodiversity and evolution. At Utah State University, she also taught undergraduate courses and developed cross-disciplinary courses in museum studies and natural resource interpretation. Her research seeks to understand the biodiversity, baseline distributions and range shifts of Hymenoptera, particularly within the superfamily Apoidea (bees and wasps). Passionate about experiential learning, Decker is dedicated to offering students hands-on opportunities while integrating entomological knowledge into fields such as engineering and land management. In her spare time, she enjoys crafting, hiking, relaxing with a good book and live music.

Channing Arndt has returned to Purdue University as the director for the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP), which is housed in the Center for Global Trade Analysis, and as research professor within the Department of Agricultural Economics. Arndt holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Colorado College, a master’s degree in agricultural economics from Colorado State University and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Purdue, where he first became involved with the Center for Global Trade Analysis. From 1998 to 2007, Arndt served as a faculty member at Purdue, while also spending five years in residence with the Ministry of Planning and Development in Mozambique. His career took him to the University of Copenhagen as a professor then to the World Institute for Development Economics Research as a senior research fellow. In 2017, Arndt joined the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), where he served first as Director of the Division of Environment and Production Technology and then as Senior Director for Transformation. During this period, he played in important role in restructuring IFPRI as well as the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers. With his extensive experience in academic research, government service and policy development, Arndt is well-positioned to lead GTAP as it embarks on into its 34th year. Arndt splits his time between the Purdue campus and Fort Collins, CO, where his partner serves as mayor. In their spare time, they enjoy the mountains, sports and travel.

Feng Wang joins Purdue University’s biochemistry department from Indiana University Bloomington and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), where he worked as a postdoctoral research associate. There, his research focused on developing biochemical assays to investigate RNA-directed DNA methylation, a transcriptional gene silencing pathway essential for fertility and development in many plant species. Wang holds a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology from Huazhong Agricultural University, China, and Ph.D. in plant biology from Pennsylvania State University. During his doctoral studies, Wang applied computational methods to study the biogenesis and function of small RNAs – short, non-coding molecules vital for gene regulation and genome stability. At Purdue, Wang’s lab will integrate genetics, bioinformatics and biochemistry to uncover the fundamental mechanisms of RNA-mediated gene silencing and its broader implications on plant biology and biotechnology. Wang looks forward to collaborating with colleagues at Purdue and utilizing the university’s state-of-the-art facilities for mass spectrometry, structural biology and microscopy to advance his research. When Wang is not in the lab, he enjoys spending time with his children, playing soccer and hiking.

Ignacio Ciampitti, a quantitative agronomist with a focus on the integration of digital agriculture in the context of complex farming systems, has joined Purdue University as the co-director of the Institute for Digital and Advanced Agricultural Systems (IDAAS) and a full professor in the agronomy department. Prior to this role, he was one of the founding directors of the Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics at Kansas State University. With a strong academic foundation, including a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Buenos Aires and Ph.D. in agronomy from Purdue, Ciampitti’s research explores the integration of crop eco-physiology and plant nutrition with data science, remote sensing and crop modeling tools. Ciampitti has trained many graduate students, research scholars and post-doctoral researchers, and led critical key projects with industry and farmers around the globe. Ciampitti brings a wealth of experience from various past and current leadership roles that position him to successfully lead Purdue’s IDAAS in advancing technology-driven and data-informed agricultural solutions while working closely with founding director Dennis Buckmaster. In addition to his full-time position, Ciampitti is an associate editor-in-chief for European Journal of Agronomy, a technical editor for Crop Science Journal and serves on the editorial board for Field Crops Research, Remote Sensing, Forecasting journals. Outside of research, Ciampitti enjoys spending time with his family and watching soccer, a passion influenced by his South American heritage.

Insu Jo, a plant ecologist, returns to Purdue University as a research assistant professor of digital forestry in the Department of Forestry & Natural Resources (FNR). Jo was a postdoctoral research associate for Purdue’s FNR department from 2016 to 2018, then from 2019 to 2024, a forest ecologist at Landcare Research, New Zealand’s Crown Research Institute focused on land environment and biodiversity. He graduated with an M.S. in biological sciences from Seoul National University, South Korea, in 2009, later earning his Ph.D. from Syracuse University, where his research focused on the ecosystem impacts of non-native plant invasions in the eastern United States. Most recently, Jo analyzed large-scaled forest inventory data from the national vegetation database in New Zealand to better understand tree demographic rates—such as recruitment, growth and mortality—and how species traits and environmental factors influence these processes. Aiming to advance our knowledge of forest dynamics, Jo leverages cutting-edge data and technologies through digital forestry. At Purdue, he is eager to use resources at the Institute of Digital Forestry to investigate how forest community composition and function are influenced by disturbance and climate change. Outside of his professional endeavors, Jo enjoys spending time with his three children and engaging in family activities.

After a six-year tenure at the University of South Dakota (USD) School of Medicine, Jose Pietri has joined Purdue University’s Department of Entomology as the O. Wayne Rollins/Orkin Endowed Chair in Urban Entomology and associate professor. At USD, Pietri led a microbiology lab focused on the intersection of medical and urban entomology, specifically exploring how urban insects can transmit pathogens that impact human health. He also examined how microorganisms could be leveraged for pest control, offering new approaches to managing common urban pests. Pietri earned his bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, where he researched mosquito transmission of malaria parasites and mosquito immunology. His entomological research deepened during his post-doctoral fellowship at UC Santa Cruz, where he studied fruit fly endosymbionts – beneficial bacteria living within these insects. Working outside of academia, Pietri shifted his focus to pest control, contributing to the development of new tools and products for managing bed bugs and cockroaches. This experience laid the foundation for his current research at Purdue. Pietri’s lab explores the biology of disease transmission by urban pests and investigates biological control methods, using microbes to target pests and reduce their health impact. Beyond urban entomology, Pietri enjoys reading, writing and nature.