Dr. Narayanan Kannan

Dr. Narayanan Kannan is a Research Agricultural Engineer at the Pollinator Health in Southern Crop Ecosystem Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (since 2021). He earned his Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering from Cranfield University in 2004. From 2013 to 2021, he worked as a Research Scientist at the Tarleton State University, Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER). He is also a member of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers and the Soil and Water Conservation Society. His research includes (1) the development of precision application equipment and methods to minimize off-target pesticide spray drift onto adjacent non-cropping areas associated with bee habitats; (2) investigation of optimal atomization and spray pattern for target crops under different weather conditions; (3) evaluation of the effects of spray products amended with spray adjuvants on spray drift reduction efficiency under laboratory and field conditions; (4) development of computer simulation models to improve aerial and ground spray deposition accuracy and reduce off-target losses; and (5) investigation of existing and new drift reduction technologies adaptable for integrated pest management (IPM) programs to protecting bees and ecosystems.