Dr. Kalidas Shetty in his office at the University of Massachusetts, Amerst.

Washington - Dr. Kalidas Shetty, an Indian-American professor of food biotechnology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who was selected among the State Department’s first five Jefferson Science Fellows, says his roots and education in India coupled with the largely merit-based system in the United States have helped him achieve all that he has in his academic career.

Besides this, hard work, perseverance, a positive attitude, diverse exposure from rural schools and different perspectives from many parts of the world have been his formula for success, Shetty said in an interview with News India-Times.

The State Department inaugurated the Jefferson Science Fellowship program on May 26 by introducing the five professors of science from various fields who will bring their specialized knowledge to the practice of foreign diplomacy at an event in the State Department.

Shetty said he came to know that he was selected by the State Department when he went through a series of interviews and then was finally introduced to Secretary of State Colin Powell. “I am grateful and honored to be awarded this fellowship inspired by the great American thinkers and leaders such as Jefferson and Franklin as well as in modern times, Dr. Norman Borlaug. This fellowship at the State Department gives us the opportunity to give something back to the world at large,” he said.

Shetty had his early schooling in a village in Chikmagalur district in India’s Karnataka state and went on to do a bachelor’s in agriculture science at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore, where he secured the first rank and won eight gold medals. Shetty came to the U.S. in 1984 with a scholarship from Professor Don L. Crawford’s laboratory to pursue, initially, a master’s in science and then a Ph.D. (1984-89) in microbiology (microbial metabolism) at the University of Idaho. He also worked briefly as a scientist in Japan and Canada.

Dr. Shetty says food safety continues to be a major concern for the industry in recent years. One of its top priorities has been to find alternative ways to preserve newly-developed foods while satisfying consumer demand to produce safe, all-natural products. In order to achieve this “clean label,” much research has been devoted to the use of plant-based anti-microbials, like those from herbs and spices, to replace chemical preservatives. The results were promising for the industry since a new approach has been developed for a highly consistent and reliable natural source of anti-microbial activity for future studies.

Shetty is married to Geetha, who is from Mangalore, Karnataka, and now works as tissue culture technician for a small company in Massachusetts that makes propagation materials for strawberry, raspberry and other small fruits.

The Shettys have two sons, Varun Sandeep, 15, who is in high school and wants to do a double major in computer science and economics in college; and Vishal Anand, 12, who wants to be a veterinary doctor like his maternal grandfather, or an animal biologist.