Dr. Bhimu Patil. (Photo: Courtesy, John Schrieber)

Dr. Bhimu Patil, a citrus scientist at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Citrus Center at Weslaco, TX, was appointed director of Texas A&M University’s Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center in College Station, TX. He will assume his duties from Jan. 3, according to the information available on the University’s Web site.

He replaces Dr. Leonard Pike who created the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center in 1992.

Dr. Ed Hiler, the Texas A&M University System vice chancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences, was quoted as saying that Patil is the right person to head the center.

“The area Dr. Patil works in is where agriculture needs to be going, and he already has strong links with the top major medical institutions of this country,” Hiler added. Dr. Patil said “the center has been productive because it is supported by 48 agricultural industries throughout the country and a few from Europe and Australia.

“I’ve already developed an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with a university in India and we will be looking to expand to any country that is interested in research that would increase the benefits of food for health.”

Patil gained acclaim for his Rio Grande Valley research linking citrus phytonutrients, or naturally-occurring compounds, with the prevention of chronic human diseases, including certain cancers and heart disease, the Web site noted.

His distance education course on phytonutrients and their benefits to human health also brought him recognition. The courses were taught via video conferencing to students across the country that included guest lecturers.

Patil was a graduate student in Pike’s horticulture laboratory almost 13 years ago when Pike established what was then called the Vegetable Improvement Center.

In March 1999, fruit was officially added to the name and research scope of the center. The Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center was thus designed to conduct research to develop new technologies for producing quality produce with health and nutrition benefits.

Patil, a native of India, began his professional career at the Citrus Center in Weslaco in 1997, first as assistant professor of plant physiology, then as associate professor in 2002 when he was also named associate director of the center.