ACES Distinguished Professor of Environmental Economics; Interim Director, Institute for Sustainability, Energy & Environment

Research Focus: Natural resource and environmental economics

Biography: Dr. Madhu Khanna is a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Her current work is examining the economics, land use and environmental implications of biofuel production and she has co-edited the Handbook of Bioenergy Economics and Policy. She was selected as a University of Illinois Scholar for 2004-07 and a Leopold Leadership Fellow of the Woods Institute at Stanford University in 2010 and received the Paul A. Funk recognition from the College of ACES, University of Illinois in 2013. She is currently editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Mission Statement: Dr. Khanna examines the motivations for producers to adopt innovative production technologies to meet demands for food and fuel, such as precision farming, biofuels, and to participate in conservation programs. Her work informs stakeholders and policy makers about the cost-effectiveness of various policy approaches to improve environmental quality and their implications for farm profitability, land use and food and fuel production.