Smit Dhakal

Smit Dhakal has worked in various positions across a variety of organizations. In 2011, they worked as an Agriculture Program Coordinator at Sindhu Tuki Cooperative Seed Production Company. From 2012 to 2015, they were a Graduate Research Assistant at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center. In 2015, they were a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Texas A&M University. In 2016, they were a Research and Development Intern at Bayer Crop Science, where they worked with Dr. Bill Berozonsky on a hybrid wheat breeding program. From 2019 to 2021, they were a Postdoctoral Research Associate-Crop Genetic Improvement at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently, they are a Wheat Scientist at PowerPollen, leading the PowerPollen-BASF collaboration for wheat program and utilizing PowerPollen's patented pollen preservation and application to improve cross-pollination and accelerate hybrid wheat development.

Smit Dhakal earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (B.Sc. Ag) from the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Tribhuvan University, in Plant Breeding and Genetics between 2006 and 2010. Smit then went on to earn a Master of Science (MS) from West Texas A&M University in Plant Breeding and Genetics between 2012 and 2014. Smit is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at Texas A&M University in Plant Breeding and Genetics.