Dr. Surya Bhattarai is a senior research fellow (Associate Professor of crop science) at the School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University. He took up a CQU research/academic position in 2006 after completing his PhD in 2005 from CQUniversity Australia. His position and program are largely funded through industry collaboration and engaged research with primary industries both in Australia and overseas. He brings valuable experience in participatory research and development. He is an experienced crop physiologist with extensive experience in crop abiotic stresses particularly for tropical broad-acre cropping and horticultural crops. His research focuses on tropical high-value crops for improving crop water productivity through the integration of crop drought tolerance (smart genetics), smart irrigation, smart soil, and fertilizer techniques.