Dr. Bruce Erickson

Agronomy Education Distance & Outreach Director, Purdue University

Bruce Erickson is the Director of the Agronomy e-Learning Academy and Clinical Associate Professor of Digital Agriculture at Purdue University.  His online classes for working professionals include Agronomy Essentials, Agronomy Essentials Europe, Precision Agriculture, and Nutrient Management, with over 2500 course completions since 2015.  He also leads a group teaching a resident undergraduate data science course, AGR 33300 Data Science for Agriculture.  Erickson annually leads the CropLife/Purdue Precision Dealer Survey and is Associate Editor of the journal Natural Sciences Education.   

Erickson earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Iowa State University and a Ph.D. from Purdue.  He started his career with Pioneer Hi-Bred (now Corteva) in Iowa, served as Senior Technical Designer at Agri Business Group in Indianapolis, and was the Education Manager for the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), developing and delivering online classes and responsible for the International CCA Exam.  He received Awards for Excellence in Digital Education at Purdue in 2015, 2017, and 2018, and in 2018 the Educator/Researcher Award of Excellence from the PrecisionAg Alliance.  He co-authored the 2020 Outstanding Paper in Natural Sciences Education, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities in the Precision Agriculture Workforce: An Industry Survey, and was co-author for the 2021 Outstanding Paper for Agronomy Journal, Setting the Record Straight on Precision Agriculture Adoption.