Rohan Fernando

Rohan L. Fernando (born January 19, 1952) is a Sri Lankan American geneticist who is a professor of quantitative genetics in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University (ISU), US.

Fernando's efforts have focused primarily on theory and methods for use of genetic markers in breeding, theory and methods for genetic evaluations of crossbred animals, methodology related to the estimation of genetic parameters and the prediction of genetic merit in populations undergoing selection and non-random mating, Bayesian methodology for analysis of unbalanced mixed model data, optimization of breeding programs, and use of computer simulation to study dynamics of genetic system.

Fernando was born in Sri Lanka in 1952 where he was raised alongside his three brothers.

His family owned land with livestock, such as dairy cows and poultry.

This land was away from his home, so he only visited during holidays.

Fernando had a passion for livestock in his younger years, and always considered his family's lifestyle to be a hobby as opposed to a job.

His family encouraged him to obtain greater education, but since the public university in Sri Lanka was difficult to get into, they sent him and his three brothers to the United States.

Another factor that went into the decision of pursuing education in the United States was Sri Lanka's political landscape at the time.

Fernando attended junior college from 1972 to 1975 at Aquinas College in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he graduated with first class honors with a diploma in agriculture.

Because he graduated with high distinction, in 1976 Fernando decided to pursue a bachelor's degree in agricultural science with an emphasis in animal science from California State University, Fresno.

Fernando graduated from California State University, Fresno, in 1978 and decided to pursue his master's degree in animal science at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), under the guidance of Daniel Gianola.

Upon his graduation in 1981, Fernando continued at UIUC for his PhD, which he completed in 1984.

At UIUC, Fernando worked on selection and non-random mating for his thesis research.

Fernando accepted a research and teaching associate position with the Department of Animal Science at UIUC.

In 1985, he became assistant professor of biometry and computer applications for the same department.

Fernando was awarded the Horace W. Norton Award in 1985 for outstanding contributions to statistics, specifically his contribution in selection, non-mating, and the covariance theory by the University of Illinois.

Fernando was married in 1989 to Terry Harrigan, who obtained a PhD in biochemistry.

The two met in Illinois and during their time together had four children.

After getting tenure and becoming associate professor in 1991, Fernando went on sabbatical through the Department of Biometry and Genetics at Louisiana State University Medical Center until 1992.

In 1996, he joined Iowa State University as professor of quantitative genetics in the Department of Animal Science.

Fernando's contributions have been presented in over 120 peer-reviewed publications and over 70 invited talks, seminars and courses in more than 16 countries.

In 2012, Fernando was awarded the Rockefeller Prentice Memorial Award in Animal Breeding and Genetics by the American Society of Animal Science.