Sandeep Kumar, Ph.D.

Background

Prior to joining Texas Tech, Sandeep Kumar served as the national program leader in the Institute of Bioenergy, Climate & Environment at the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. In this role, he oversaw federal research investments aimed at improving soil health, reducing agricultural emissions and building more resilient farming systems. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in agriculture and soil science from Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University before completing a doctorate in soils at the University of Missouri and a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Systems. Before joining USDA in 2021, Kumar spent nearly a decade as faculty member at South Dakota State University, where he led research programs in soil management and carbon dynamics while mentoring graduate students and collaborating on regional and national research initiatives. Earlier in his career, he served as a research scientist and postdoctoral researcher at The Ohio State University.

His contributions have earned national recognition, including election in 2025 as a Fellow of both the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy. He also has received multiple USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Achievement Awards, and South Dakota State University's Gamma Sigma Delta Research Award.

Research Interests

Throughout his career, Kumar has sought to answer one of agriculture's most pressing questions: How can producers increase productivity while preserving the natural resources on which farming depends?

His research has examined how conservation practices - including no-till production, cover crops, livestock integration and diversified crop rotations - affect soil health, water quality and long-term agricultural sustainability. He is widely known for quantifying changes in soil organic carbon, greenhouse gas emissions and water retention under different management systems, research that has informed conservation strategies nationwide.

Kumar has also pioneered the use of advanced imaging technologies, including X-ray computed tomography, to visualize underground soil structures and better understand how water, nutrients and contaminants move through agricultural landscapes. That systems-oriented perspective became central to his work at USDA, where he coordinated research programs spanning agronomy, engineering, economics, extension education and environmental science. The goal was not simply to generate new scientific knowledge but to ensure that discoveries reached farmers, land managers and policymakers.