Purdue University’s College of Agriculture recently welcomed Ignacio Ciampitti, an internationally renowned expert in quantitative agronomy, as the new co-director of the Institute for Digital and Advanced Agricultural Systems (IDAAS) and professor in the Department of Agronomy.
Returning to Purdue this semester through the talent-based Moveable Dream Hires program, which is intended to attract high-performing, top-caliber faculty to the university, Ciampitti will focus on integrating digital agriculture into complex farming systems to continue laying the foundation for advancing the agricultural industry.
We are thrilled that Dr. Ciampitti is joining our college’s faculty and supporting the university’s Purdue Computes initiative. Dr. Ciampitti has garnered international recognition for his exceptional work as a distinguished researcher and mentor, playing a key role in shaping both the future of digital agriculture and the next generation of agricultural leaders,” said Bernie Engel, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture.
Sowing the foundation for future agronomists
Ciampitti comes to Purdue from Kansas State University, where he was one of the founding directors of the Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics. His expertise is in integrating field research, statistics, remote sensing and crop modeling to understand plant responses in various agricultural systems. During his time at Kansas State, Ciampitti served as a major professor for 30 graduate students, and trained over 100 research scholars, including more than 30 Ph.D. exchange students and post-doctoral researchers.
“At Kansas State University, I honed in on student training, specifically training people who are more interdisciplinary – those who integrate different disciplines while having a core agronomy foundation in crops, soils and other aspects of the field,” explained Ciampitti. “I strived to teach them the skills to connect with other colleges and disciplines, for example, by bringing new statistical tools to help provide insights on research or new methods on geospatial analysis and remote sensing."
Ciampitti continued, “One of the big things we say is that we want to train agronomists who know their core values and understand how soil and plants work, and who are also very quantitative, incorporating data and technologies to provide real-world solutions.”
Growing his research in agronomy
Originally from Buenos Aires City, Argentina, Ciampitti earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomic engineering and master’s degree in soil science and plant nutrition from the University of Bueno Aires. He then pursued his Ph.D. at Purdue, completing it in 2012 with a focus on maize physiology, plant nutrition and breeding. He stayed at Purdue until 2013 as a post-doctoral researcher, where he specialized in leveraging large datasets and modern statistical methods to enhance the efficient use of nitrogen in corn production.
During his graduate studies, Ciampitti worked as a research assistant and played an active role in the graduate students' representatives committee. His outstanding contributions to the field of agronomy earned him numerous honors, including the Marschner Young Scientist Award, the Gerald O. Mott Award, the Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship and the International Scholar Award from the International Plant Nutrition Institution (IPNI).
Cultivating a broader impact across agriculture
Beyond his academic roles, Ciampitti serves as associate editor-in-chief for the European Journal of Agronomy, a technical editor for Crop Science Journal, and on the editorial board for Field Crops Research, Remote Sensing, Forecasting journal.
Presenting at numerous international, national, state and local level conferences, Ciampitti is a prolific speaker and author, with more than 250 peer-reviewed papers on corn, soybean, sorghum, canola and cover crops. He has also contributed book chapters and served as an editor of an Agronomy Monograph from the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), which explores the potential of sorghum as a key crop in the face of climate change. His work has earned him numerous accolades, including the Early Career Awards from both the Crop Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), the Werner L. Nelson Award for Diagnosis of Yield-Limiting Factors, the Carl Sprengel Agronomic Research Award, and the Outstanding Scientist Award from Sigma Xi. He is also a fellow of ASA, which is the highest recognition bestowed by the society.
Scholars with a strong research background bring cutting-edge knowledge and innovative methodologies to the university, advancing our research capabilities and providing high-quality education and mentorship to students and innovative solutions to our stakeholders,” said Laura Bowling, department head and professor in agronomy.
Replanting the seeds of innovation at Purdue
The Ciampitti Lab focuses on bridging crop eco-physiology and plant nutrition with data science, predictive crop modeling, remote sensing and meta-analysis to push the boundaries of how we can understand and improve agricultural systems in an increasingly data-driven world.
“Understanding farming systems complexities, soil, crop and plant responses and testing new technologies in this digital agricultural revolution, continues to be my target focus,” noted Ciampitti. “When you’re focused on these areas, you also tend to look at management and digital agriculture, which requires you to bring in tools and train people to be integrators, new thinkers and interdisciplinary in approaches, including data science, statistics and crop modeling, with core agronomic foundation.”
As co-director of IDAAS, Ciampitti works alongside Dennis Buckmaster, the founding director of IDAAS, to lead strategic initiatives that integrate advanced technologies into agriculture. Together, they will guide the development of cutting-edge digital tools and data-driven solutions, while equipping the next generation of agronomists with the skills to transform farming practices and deliver more rapid solutions to farmers. In this role, Ciampitti also has the opportunity to collaborate with stakeholders across the state, foster new public-private partnerships and work closely with industry leaders committed to providing innovative solutions for farmers.
Dr. Ciampitti has a demeanor that combines energy and perspective, which is very rare. Blending that with his passion for digital solutions to agricultural challenges and opportunities makes him an ideal fit to co-lead our new Institute for Digital and Advanced Agricultural Systems. He brings fresh ideas regarding engagement of students, colleagues, industry and other institutions into the work we do across all land grant missions," explained Buckmaster, also a professor in the department of agricultural biology and engineering.
Bowling echoed this sentiment, adding, “Dr. Ciampitti also has a remarkable ability to collaborate broadly, engaging with industry groups, federal and state agencies, researchers and stakeholders to leverage complementary strengths, accelerate innovation and achieve results with broad impacts”
Leading critical key projects with industry and farmers around the globe, Ciampitti emphasized that to increase farmer profitability, researchers must explore the best management practices and identify the optimal inputs, hybrids and nutrient applications for their fields. Additionally, it’s crucial to evaluate emerging technologies that can offer solutions to help farmers enhance sustainability within their operations.
“His great track record of cross-discipline collaborations, deep discipline knowledge, big-picture view of how digital technologies can improve agricultural operations and experiences with blending data and modeling can facilitate stronger collaborations at Purdue and beyond,” said Buckmaster.
Ciampitti’s return to Purdue signals an exciting new chapter in his research journey. “I am excited to make an impact on the state, region, country and world. Purdue’s is a globally recognized institution, creating the opportunity for us to really look at what the future of agronomy will look like in the next decades while training the next generation of the workforce,” said Ciampitti. “I started my doctoral training here and am so excited to be back.”
