Our Team

Dean Plaut provides the vision and leadership needed for the College of Agriculture to advance Purdue’s national and global leadership in teaching and research. Plaut also oversees the overall vision and development of strategies for the Digital Innovation in Agri-food Systems Lab (DIAL).

Engel oversees research and graduate programs for the College of Agriculture and its Next Moves initiatives. Engel also guides entrepreneurship activities with a focus on increasing licensing potential and startups that serve the food and agriculture system.

Cottrell provides leadership in all phases of research-based operations management and strategic planning of the College of Agriculture’s Next Moves initiatives, including DIAL. Cottrell improves efficiency of operations and oversees the hiring and coordination of all personnel and resources.

Dudareva is the director of the CPB, an interdepartmental alliance of plant biologists who share an interest in fundamental research and are committed to graduate training. The CPB was formed as part of Purdue Moves, launched in 2013, to strengthen Purdue’s research capacity in plant sciences.

Fei is responsible for the College of Agriculture’s overall vision for remote sensing and leads a multidisciplinary research team who develops digital technology to revolutionize forestry into the information age.

Gray provides strategic direction for DIAL’s market research and venture development, working closely with their annual cohort of Fellows to bring digital innovations into the agri-food industry.

Hickman is the master planner of facilities overseeing the creation and renovation of greenhouses, rainout shelters and labs. Hickman also collaborates with faculty and staff on new and ongoing research projects, managing projects that implement the vision of Purdue Agriculture’s Next Moves initiatives.

Lusk provides strategic direction and cultivates internal and external relationships for the CFDAS. He is a food and agricultural economist who studies what we eat and why we eat it.

Robinson leads strategic communications for the College of Agriculture’s Next Moves programs. She is responsible for developing and implementing communications strategies, as well as creating and maintaining consistent messaging across various platforms.

Tuinstra helps define the research direction for plant sciences and offers guidance for the College of Agriculture’s Next Moves projects so the research meets specific goals.

Yang is responsible for managing Purdue’s expanding phenomics research and infrastructure as well as developing computational systems and tools to enable researchers to overcome challenges.