Professor, Associate Dean & Director of World Agriculture Center · Michigan State University
Presented December 10, 2026 · Library of Congress · Washington, D.C.
Dr. Karim Maredia is Professor, Associate Dean and Director of the World Agriculture Center in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University. The son of a dairy farmer from a small village in Gujarat, India, he has built one of the most consequential global knowledge-transfer programs in agricultural science — the World Knowledge and Technology Access Program (WorldTAP) — grounded in a lifelong conviction that science belongs to everyone.
Educated across three continents, Dr. Maredia earned his BSc in Agriculture from Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth (India), his MS in Integrated Pest Management from Alabama A&M University, and his PhD in Plant Breeding and Integrated Pest Management from the University of Arkansas. He joined Michigan State University in 1989 after serving as a post-doctoral research fellow and international scientist at CIMMYT in Mexico — the same institution where Dr. Norman Borlaug developed the high-yielding wheat varieties that launched the Green Revolution.
Over more than three decades at MSU, Dr. Maredia has trained more than 15,000 academic and non-academic stakeholders from 80+ countries through international courses and workshops, hosted 250+ research fellows and visiting scholars at MSU, co-authored or edited 130 publications including 8 books and 12 policy briefs, and traveled professionally to 63 countries to connect cutting-edge agricultural research with the farmers, scientists, and policymakers who need it most.
He currently serves as Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of India, member of the African Union’s High-Level Panel on Emerging Technologies, and member of the Global Council of the World Agriculture Forum. His programs have secured more than $55 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, USDA, the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation, CropLife International, and Winrock International, among others.
"It is a great honor and deeply humbling to receive this prestigious award. The award celebrates not only my individual efforts but also the enduring power of partnerships, collaborations, and shared vision across national and international boundaries. It reflects our shared commitment to advancing science, technology, and innovation toward a food-secure world, while recognizing the vital role of effective communication in connecting science with society. I am very grateful to my dedicated colleagues, partners, and collaborators whose collective efforts have made this journey both meaningful and rewarding."
"I nominated Dr. Maredia for his visionary leadership, global impact, and unwavering dedication to sharing knowledge. He exemplifies the spirit of Dr. Borlaug by ensuring that scientific knowledge does not remain confined to laboratories and academic journals but reaches the people who will use it to improve lives and livelihoods. His vision of 'science without borders' has empowered thousands of scientists, policymakers, farmers, and other professionals to help build a better world."
"Dr. Maredia is an esteemed pillar of the international agricultural community, and this high honor recognizes an extraordinary career spent in service of farmers and scientists across the globe. He works tirelessly — and with characteristic humility — to bring top-notch agricultural research to the world, and we're very proud to call him a Spartan."
On December 10, 2026 — the anniversary of Dr. Norman Borlaug’s acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 — CAST will present the 2026 Borlaug CAST Communication Award to Dr. Karim Maredia at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Maredia will be recognized for a career built on the conviction that scientific knowledge belongs to everyone — and that the duty of the scientist extends beyond the laboratory to the communities and policymakers who can act on it. His three-decade record of capacity building, international knowledge exchange, and science diplomacy embodies the mission of the award.
Additional program details, including speaker lineup and event schedule, will be announced in the coming months. For inquiries, contact cvianna@cast-science.org.
Program Participants
Additional program participants will be announced prior to the event.
Award recognizes scientists who effectively communicate agricultural research to non-technical audiences; ceremony to be held Dec. 10 at the Library of Congress.
CAST is now accepting nominations for the 2026 Borlaug CAST Communication Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in communicating agricultural, environmental, and food science to policymakers, the media, and the public.
Ceremony held March 3 at the Library of Congress honored leaders in agricultural science communication.
The 2025 CAST Borlaug CAST Communication Award ceremony is made possible through the generous support of:
Supporting the next generation of agricultural science communicators at the student level.
CAST’s premier annual honor — recognizing mid-career professionals bridging science and society.
CAST’s honor — for sustained, career-long impact at the national or international level.
