India is the world s second-largest producer of wheat and rice and is home to more than 600 million farmers.
The country has achieved impressive food-production gains since the 1960s, due in part to an increased reliance on irrigation wells, which allowed Indian farmers to expand production into the mostly dry winter and summer seasons.
But those gains have come at a cost: The country that produces 10% of the world s crops is now the world s largest consumer of groundwater, and aquifers are rapidly becoming depleted across much of India.
Indian government officials have suggested that switching from groundwater-depleting wells to irrigation canals, which divert surface water from lakes and rivers, is one way to overcome projected shortfalls.
Data science leader Article by Tracey Bryant and Karen Roberts Photo by Evan Krape February 18, 2021
Cathy Wu, director of UDâs Data Science Institute, discusses the future of this fast-growing field
A tidal wave of data seems to flow from us and around us every day. The University of Delawareâs Cathy Wu is helping the world figure out how to handle, protect and make sense of it all.
Wu, Unidel Edward G. Jefferson Chair in Engineering and Computer Science, leads UDâs Data Science Institute, a hub for interdisciplinary research and collaboration, where faculty and students are exploring big data questions in business, health, energy, astronomy, policy, communications and many other fields.