AGGIE AGENDA Congratulations to all our award recipients!

DEPARTMENT OF SOIL AND CROP SCIENCES
Volume V, Issue 3
AGGIE AGENDA
DEPARTMENT OF SOIL & CROP SCIENCES
AWARDS & RECOGNITION, 2010-2011
Peter Dotray – Dow AgroSciences
Award for Excellence in Research
(American Peanut Research and Education Society)
Travis Miller – Texas A&M System Regents Honors
(Texas A&M University)
April 22, 2011
Sam Feagley – Irrometer Professional Certification
Service Award
(Soil Science Society of America)
Paul Baumann – 2010 Educator Achievement Award
(Texas Ag Industries Association)
Milton C. Englke – Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award
Monte Rouquette – Dedicated Service Award
(Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science)
Jackie Rudd – 2010 Texas Wheat Man of the Year
(Texas Wheat Producers Board Association)
B. B. Singh – 2010 Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth Award
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Sam Feagley, Tony Provin, William Johnson,
Kevin Ong and Don Wilkerson –
Superior Service Award – Hurricane Ike Landscape
Recovery and Renovation Team
(Texas AgriLife Extension Service)
Diane Boellstorff, Nikki Dictson, Jennifer Peterson
and Matt Berg
Superior Service Award - Texas Watershed Stewards Team
(Texas AgriLife Extension Service)
Cristine Morgan
Honored Professor
(College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council)
Namesake for 25th T-Camp
2013 Chair of S1 Division
(Soil Physics, Soil Science Society of America)
David Baltensperger – Fellow
(American Association for the Advancement of Science)
Milton C. Englke – Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award
Monte Rouquette – Fellow
(Crop Science Society of America)
Charles Hallmark – Undergraduate Teaching
James Muir – Individual, Off-campus Research
Bio-Resource Cycling Team: Tony Provin, Don Vietor,
Richard White and others – Research Team
Rainwater Harvesting Task Force Team: Monty Dozier,
John Smith and others – Extension Team
Bill Rooney – Faculty Fellow
Vice Chancellor Awards in Excellence
(Texas A&M AgriLife)
Congratulations to all our award recipients!
The entire list of awards and scholarships may be viewed at the end of this newsletter.
Volume V, Issue 3
Page 2
In Memory
Condolences to Dr. Mike and Bonnie Chandler on the death of Bonnie’s
mother, Mrs. Vivian Leake. Mrs.
Leake was 89 years old when she
passed away on April 15 in Tulsa,
Oklahoma.
In Memory of Former Students
William Thomas Sistrunk ‘52
Agronomy
Bryan, TX
Mason Briscoe II ‘44
Agronomy
On the Mend:
Richmond, TX
Linda Carpenter is recovering from
knee replacement surgery. Please
remember her as she goes through the
healing process.
Alan Ray Baty ‘87
Agronomy
Devol, OK
Pray for Rain
New Baby Congratulations!
Clara Grace Robinson, newborn of Chance and Suzanne Robinson was born
on March 8 at 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and 20 inches long. Chance is a graduate student in Soil and Crop Sciences Department and Dr. Hallmark is his
major professor.
Lincoln James Frankovich was born at 2:30 PM on April 13th in Texarkana, TX
to Brooke and Jay Frankovich. He weighed in at 8 lbs and was 21 inches long.
Brooke is the daughter of Tami and Frank Hons. Lincoln is their second grandchild and has an older brother, Oliver.
Page 3
Volume V, Issue 3
SCS Gold Housekeeping Award
C
ongratulations to Dr. Terry Gentry, Heidi Mjelde and students on receiving an
excellent rating on their lab inspection. Dr. Christine McFarland (inspector from
Office of Biosafety) commended Terry and Heidi on the impeccable lab they maintain. She stated that “everything was in excellent order and labs like yours are
few and far between”.
Great job Terry, Heidi and Crew!
KUDOS!
2010 Educator of the Year
Dr. Paul Baumann was selected as the recipient of the “2010 Educator
of the Year” award at the Texas Ag Industries Association Annual Conference. Texas Ag Industries is the largest Agricultural organization in the
state. Paul is a professor and state Extension Weed Specialist in the department.
Congratulations!
If you have awards or information that you would like mentioned in future newsletters, please send to [email protected]
Page 4
Volume V, Issue 3
Congratulations Award Winners!
B.B. Singh honored by the University of Illinois
Fig.1. Dr. Robert A. Easter, the Chancellor of
UI presenting the Award to Dr. B.B. Singh
Dr. B. B. Singh was honored by the University of Illinois (UI) on April 14, 2011 with
‘International Alumni Award for Exceptional
Achievement’ during a banquet at its Urbana-Champaign campus attended by most
of the Deans, Directors and Professors of
the University and many invited dignitaries
including the Consul General of India Ms.
Mukta Tomer.
While presenting the Award, Dr. Robert A. Easter, the Chancellor of the University of Illinois,
said to Dr. Singh,
“The University of Illinois wishes to honor your
original contributions in cowpea and soybean
genetics and breeding
which have led to the
development of sustainable cropping systems and enhanced
food security, family
nutrition and income
generation for millions
of farmers and their
families in India and
Nigeria. While your research has produced a
quiet revolution in cowpea cultivation throughout the tropics, your culturally sensitive ‘hands
on’ approach has also led to the empowerment of women farmers through increased
access to and training in crop production.
With this award,
we acknowledge
your disciplinary
commitment and
active mentorship,
which have placed
you in high regard
among your students, and fellow
researchers in the
field of crop sciences”.
Fig.2. Dr. B.B. Singh giving the acceptance speech
In his acceptance speech, Dr. B. B. Singh thanked his teachers, professors, colleagues and collaborators, and the University of Illinois and G.B. Pant University for providing him excellent training
and to International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Texas A&M University for their support for his
professional development.
We are on the web! soilcrop.tamu.edu
Page 5
Volume V, Issue 3
Award Winners continued
George Cutts Selected for Short Course in Philippines
Congratulations to George Cutts on being selected to participate in the Rice Research to Production
short course in the Philippines at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), May 16 - June 3,
2011.
This course is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to Cornell University
Professor Susan McCouch that will cover course fees, lodging and food at IRRI. George is a part of a
group from the United States who will be supported by the NSF. There will be additional participants
coming from other countries.
Finalist for 2011 AACC international Research Paper Competition
Leonnard O. Ojwang was chosen as one of the six finalists who will advance to the next round of
the 2011 AACC International Best Student Research Paper Competition. The competition will take
place on Tuesday, October 18, during the AACC International Annual Meeting in Palm Springs,
California.
Dixon Soil Mineralogy Awards
Endowment to honor Dr. Joe Dixon and his contributions to the discipline of soil mineralogy and
his distinguished career. The fund supports two
competitive graduate student awards on topics
central to soil mineralogy at SSSA national meetings.
The 2010 Best Presentation Award went to Roberta J. McClure, a student at Texas A&M University pursuing an
M.S. degree in geology where she is
studying low-temperature geochemistry
and soil mineralogy.
Her current research
project is a study of
the mineralogy and
geochemistry of Pb, Zn, and Ag mine tailings in
Zimapan, Mexico, originating from carbonaterich deposits. The 2010 Student Travel Grant
was presented to Ana L. Barrientos Velazquez,
a student at Texas A&M University pursuing an
M.S. degree in soil science where she is working
with Dr. Dixon on his current research project on
adsorption of aflatoxin by bentonite clays. She is
currently finishing her
thesis and will pursue
a Ph.D. under the advising of Dixon and Dr.
Youjun Deng.
Permission to copy from
CSA News, March 2011
edition.
Dr. Joe B. Dixon (center) with the best presentation award recipient Roberta
McClure (left) and the travel grant recipient Ana L. Barrientos Velazquez (right)
at 2010 ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Annual Meetings in Long Beach, CA
Page 6
Volume V, Issue 3
Crossbred Cowpea Shows Promising Results
Promising results from a crossbred cowpea variety has
Texas AgriLife Research scientists hopeful that the droughtresistant trait will soon be available to producers.
superior genotypes that will be used in the crossbreeding experiments, which are done through conventional
methods of breeding.
Though commonly consumed as a food staple, the cowpea
(commonly known as the black-eyed pea) has lots of potential to expand into the feedstock sector in both livestock
and cropping systems, according to Dr. B.B. Singh, a visiting
professor in the soil and crop sciences department at Texas
A&M University.
Singh came to the department as a visiting professor
following his retirement three years ago from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Africa. He is
working with colleagues Creighton Miller, D.C. Sheuring
and Dr. Bill Payne, using field trials in College Station
as part of research efforts. The
team also is finding solutions to
breeding cowpea varieties that
are aphid resistant in addition to
drought tolerant.
“Drought is one of the major constraints to agriculture across the
world,” Singh said. “The breeders
are trying to develop drought-tolerant varieties. Screening for this
in the field is very difficult. What
we’ve done is bring the drought
inside the greenhouse and so far,
we’ve seen some very favorable
results.”
In a greenhouse at Texas A&M in
College Station, Singh has been
working with a group of scientists
to breed a drought-resistant cowpea variety. This type of cowpea
could be valuable as a food
staple in the U.S., Asia, South
America and in Africa where high
temperatures and little rainfall
dictate growing conditions.
“We’ve been working on this with
the goal of understanding the
physiology of drought tolerance
so we can better breed for it,”
said Dave Verbree, a doctoral
student in plant breeding and
physiology at Texas A&M. “We’re
looking at how many genes are involved and breeding
drought-tolerant lines that combine only the best traits for a
given environment.”
According to the International
Institute of Tropical Agriculture in
Africa, the cowpea is an important food crop in many African,
Asian and South American countries, especially as an alternative
source of protein where people
cannot afford meat and fish.
The crop typically is grown by
subsistence farmers with limited
agricultural resources, who use
it to feed livestock or sell for additional income.
Estimates from the International
Food and Agriculture Organization and other sources indicate
that more than 6 million tons of
cowpeas are produced annually
worldwide, with sub-Saharan
Africa responsible for about 70
percent of that amount. With
availability of new short-duration
heat- and drought-tolerant and
pest-resistant varieties, cowpea production would significantly increase in the coming decades.
Verbree is using thermal imaging to assist in identifying the
You can view the entire article written by Blair Fannin for AgriLife TODAY at:
http://agrilife.org/today/2011/01/31/promising-results-for-breeding-drought-resistant-cowpea/
Page 7
Volume V, Issue 3
Turf & Agronomy Club Picnic
About 70 people enjoyed good food,
fellowship, fun and games at the departmental picnic co-sponsored by
our Agronomy and Turf clubs Sunday afternoon (Apr. 17) at Tanglewood Park in Bryan. Students, faculty, staff and parents came together
to celebrate Parents Weekend and
to wish our Graduating Seniors well
as they move on to the next phases
of their lives. A good time was had
by all!
Soil & Crop Sciences & Entomology Faculty Seminar
Several faculty attended the Wednesday lunch seminar with Dr. Elsa Murano presenting “New opportunities for agricultural development funding through the Feed the Future Initiative.” This program was hosted by Entomology and Soil and Crop Sciences.
Page 8
Volume V, Issue 3
Summer Internship
2011 Interns
"For 2011, so far we have two outstanding students lined up for the program," says Dr. C.
Wayne Smith, Professor, Cotton Breeding and
Associate Department Head.
Mitchell Schumann will rotate through the programs of Rodante Tabien (rice), Ray Smith (forage legumes) at the Overton Research and
Extension Center, and another program to be
determined.
The Summer Plant Breeding Internship at Texas
A&M University, College Station, TX, is designed to
introduce undergraduate students to the discipline
of plant breeding, especially those students who believe that they have a interest in the discipline.
The Plant Breeding Summer Internship is a collaborative effort among the plant breeding faculty in
the departments of Soil & Crop Sciences and Horticultural Sciences. Students who are interested in
participating in the internship identify and prioritize
five plant breeding programs across the two departments. The Department office then works with those
programs to identify three that will accept the student
for approximately one month each during the summer.
Jae Ebeling will work with Jackie Rudd (wheat)
at the Amarillo Research and Extension Center,
Jane Dever (cotton) at the Lubbock Research
and Extension Center, and Russ Jessup (perennial grasses) at College Station.
Anyone interested in this program should contact Dr. Smith at [email protected] (979-8453450) to learn more about the opportunity.
“I believe that the interns so far have found the
program helpful as they decide their future professional direction. The plant breeding faculty
has been supportive of the program and provides invaluable guidance for these potential
plant breeders of tomorrow,” Dr. Smith says.
This program is open to Texas A&M students and to
students at other colleges and universities.
Texas A&M University - Department of Soil & Crop Sciences - TAMU 2474, College Station, TX 7784343
Page 9
Volume V, Issue 3
Calendar Events
011
2
April 23
Get rid of your old computers (see note below)
April 27
Seminar - 4:00 p.m., Room 103, refreshments at 3:45 p.m. Meredith Bilek PhD-SOSC at 4:00 & David Whitmire MS-PLBR at 4:30.
May 22-25 National Association of Plant Breeders Annual Conference - Hosted by Soil and Crop Sciences
May 27
Small Grains Advisory Meeting
June 21
Stiles Farm Field Day - Thrall, TX.
Oct. 5
Turfgrass and Landscape Field Day - College Station
Communications Office - Get rid of your old computers!
If you have old (working or non-working) IT equipment here at the department, please contact
Scott Vajdak in the communications office at [email protected] to schedule a time for him to
prepare your items to be taken to surplus.
pril 23
Tomorrow, A
If you have old computers at home that you would like to get rid of and you live in the Brazos
Valley (includes counties of: Brazos/Burleson/Washington/Robertson/Grimes/Madison/Leon),
there will be a Household Hazardous Waste Collection event held on Saturday, April 23rd from
7am – 2pm. This is a city sponsored event held twice a year at the University Services Building just past the Veteran’s Park. There are restrictions on what you may bring but it’s a great
chance to safely get rid of that old computer that nobody wants! Visit www.cstx.gov/hhw or call
the Brazos Valley Solid Waste Agency’s 24-hour hotline at 979-764-3809 for more information.
TAMU 2474 · College Station · TX · 77843-2474· PH 979-845-3041
Page 10
Volume V, Issue 3
Investing in Students at A&M - instead of a new tractor - by Dudley Smith
Angela and I are from farm families who
placed a high value on education. Our parents
helped us in our undergraduate programs and we
received some financial support for our graduate
degrees. We always wanted to return that favor
by supporting Texas A&M students who were not
particularly academic superstars but were hardworking, from middle-income families. Beyond
the financial assistance, we wanted to give them a
vote of confidence that someone believed in them
enough to invest in their future.
ing gates or gets hurt working cattle.
I worked for the Texas A&M System for nearly
40 years in agricultural research administration
and later teaching in the Soil and Crop Sciences
Department. As I read the Foundation’s Spirit
magazine over the years, most of the articles featured people who had committed millions to the
University. Although we were financially secure
for our retirement years, we did not have this level
of wealth but wanted to find a way to help Texas
A&M students and the Texas AgriLife Research
programs. Not having mega-millions, we weren’t
sure how to do this with our level of resources.
But we learned that the Foundation has plans and
programs that enable nearly anyone to enrich
institutional programs. Here’s how our experience
unfolded.
We started to think about what would have a
more lasting effect: a nicely painted depreciating asset or an endowment that would impact the
lives of students. So instead of buying a newer
tractor, we decided to spruce up the old one with a new more-comfortable after-market seat
(without duct taped repairs), repaired the flashers,
and fixed some oil leaks. By then the newer tractor at the dealership was gone and I felt a little
relieved. We really wanted to invest in something
more substantial that would impact the future
lives of others.
I frequently drove by a John Deere dealership
on my way to Smith Farm and one day noticed an
almost new tractor on their used equipment lot. I
stopped to see how much the newer tractor would
cost. It was several thousand dollars but we could
afford it and it would look nice in our shed at
Smith Farm.
Well, we thought about it a couple of days.
Christmas was coming and both of us would
enjoy a newer tractor. In past years Angela had
received a new cattle guard and I had received a
new cattle squeeze chute. Those made for prudent
gifts on a small ranch - so no one gets wet open-
The shiny new-looking tractor sure looked nice
on the dealer’s lot. From a practical view, the JD
tractor we already had would move hay bales,
shred pastures, drill post holes, and perform other
ranch chores. But my cows and neighbors really
wouldn’t care if I had a newer tractor. Besides,
the rear tires were nearly new, the heavy duty
batteries were still good for another winter, and
a block warmer was already installed for easier
starts on cold mornings.
I called our Ag Development Foundation folks
at Texas A&M to help us plan endowments that
would have more long-lasting impacts than a
tractor. Without any pressure, they helped us set
up two endowments. We funded a University Endowed Opportunity Award (EOA) program with
$25,000. This program would help an undergraduate from a rural area that may not have super
academic records but had a strong work ethic
from home and wanted to major in the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Many of these
kids struggle financially and have to work extra
jobs to gain a college education. We wanted to
ease those burdens. This endowment “felt good”
once we got it set up so we looked into doing a
second gift - to enhance graduate studies.
We funded a second endowment, the “Dudley
Page 11
Volume V, Issue 3
Investing in Students (continued)
T. ‘79 and Angela R. Smith Travel Endowment”
which was fully funded over five years. This program now provides short-term exploratory travel
experiences, enabling an MS or PhD student in
Agronomy to travel outside of Texas. Dr. David
Baltensperger, Head of the Department of Soil
and Crop Sciences commented that “this specially-designed program by the Smith Family helps
us in recruitment and expands graduate research
by enabling students to visit public or corporate
research programs, establish linkages, and bring
those experiences back to similar programs at
Texas A&M and Texas AgriLife Research.”
Dudley T. Smith ‘79
Soil and Crop Sciences
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-2474
Phone 979 - 845 - 4702
Fax 979 - 845 - 0456
[email protected]
By working with the Foundation, the Smith’s
were able to structure and direct their gifts toward
specific programs they had envisioned earlier,
within financial levels they could afford. What
a triple-win deal. A succession of students will
have their education expanded beyond what they
or their parents would have envisioned. Today
the Smith’s are retired and feel financially secure
because of prudent decisions in their past financial
management. They’re able to provide for their
son Gresham Smith ’96, and wife Barbara Sobell Smith’96, and daughter Beth Glasshoff. And
they’re also able to provide scholarships within
their financial means that will impact the lives of
others - because someone provided support that
enabled them to get quality educations and research degrees decades ago.
Know what? The Smith’s say they’ll never miss
the money that went into endowments. “We just
re-invested a part of our assets into ‘human capital’ into helping others.”
Thank-you Angela and Dudley for all the support you have provided over the years!
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Jessica Koepp. Marshall McCown, Olivia de Hoyos. Heather Watson, Kelsey Hoegenauer, Elise Zeigler, Page Graves
Brittany Sousa, Jeff Wong, Jamie Faust
Zamara Thibodeaux, Sarah Coffey, Justin Ng
AWARDS PROGRAM
April 14, 2011
Welcome
Dr. Wayne Smith
Invocation
Ms. Carol Lange
Dinner
Introductions
Guests
Speaker
Featured Speaker
Dr. Wayne Smith
Dr. Terry Moore
British Petroleum Remediation Management
Recognition of Student Activities
Dr. Wayne Smith
Turf Club
Agronomy Society
Graduate Student Association
Mr. Reagan Hejl
Ms. Paige Graves
Mr. Justin Ng
Recognition of Awardees
Undergraduates Students
Mr. Mark Hall
Dr. David Baltensperger
Dean’s List
Distinguished Students List
Outstanding Freshman
Outstanding Sophomore
Outstanding Junior
Outstanding Senior
2011-2012 Scholarship Designees
Adjourn
Dr. David Baltensperger
SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS for 2011-2012
Stacy Arteaga
Cecil and Ola Beasley Goodman
Undergraduate Scholarship
Dean Ide P. Trotter Sr. Memorial Scholarship
Dr. Cleveland & Frances Gerard Scholarship
Eduard Beloui
James Hubert Foster Scholarship
Sarah Coffey
Texas Seed Trade Association Scholarship
Allen and Joan Wiese Endowed Scholarship
Landon Crotwell
Texas Seed Trade Association Scholarship
Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
Jacquelin Ebeling
J. F. Mills Endowed Scholarship
H. Jean Mills Memorial Scholarship
Jamie Faust
Dianna Fisher
McAfee Memorial Scholarship
J. C. and Judy Blue Undergraduate Scholarship
Dr. Cleveland & Frances Gerard Scholarship
Michael Frantzen
Texas Turfgrass Scholarship
Texas Turfgrass Scholarship –
William E. “Bill” McLaughlin Scholarship
Texas Turfgrass Scholarship –
Paul M. Drummett Scholarship
Madeline Frazier
Church Scholarship
Michael Hinkelman
Texas Turfgrass Scholarship –
A. W. and Barbara Crain Scholarship
Kelsey Hoegenauer
Ceres, Inc. Scholarship
Katrina Horn
Billie B.and Gloria S. Turner
Production Scholarship
Trevor Jones
Morris G. Merkle Endowed Scholarship
Jessica Koepp
Kenneth & Marion Porter Endowed Scholarship
Dr. Cleveland & Frances Gerard Scholarship
Colby Lisenby
Golf Course Builders Association of
America Foundation Scholarship
Keith Ebanks Memorial Scholarship
Benjamin Martin
Dick Holland Endowed Scholarship
Kenneth & Marion Porter Endowed Scholarship
Lindsey Merritt
Jack Hulgan Memorial Scholarship
Whitney Minton
Texas Seed Trade Association Scholarship
Kenneth & Marion Porter Endowed Scholarship
Jeffrey Morris
Ceres, Inc. Scholarship
Billy, Gloria and Gerry Conrad Scholarship
Jacob Shaw
Joe S. Campise Memorial Scholarship
Kenneth Lindsey Memorial Scholarship
Billy, Gloria and Gerry Conrad Scholarship
Heather Watson
Jeff Wong
Kenneth & Marion Porter Endowed Scholarship
Dick Holland Endowed Scholarship
Pierce Young
C.W. Smith Undergraduate
Plant Breeding Scholarship
Charles ’63 and Lynann ’66 Simpson Endowed Scholarship
Elise Zeigler
Olin & Thelma Smith Endowed Scholarship
Charles ’63 and Lynann ’66 Simpson Endowed Scholarship
Dick Holland Endowed Scholarship
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT OFFICERS
Agronomy Society
Paige Graves – President
Brady Green – Vice President
Heather Watson – Secretary
Whitney Minton – Treasurer
Sarah Coffey – Reporter
Kiley Book – Merchandise Coordinator
Drs. David Zuberer & Steve Hague – Faculty Advisors
Turf Club
Reagan Hejl – President
Blake Cain – Vice President
Bill Hardin – Secretary
Lindsey Merritt – Treasurer
Ryan Heine – Member Services
Drs. David Chalmers & Richard White – Faculty Advisors
SOIL and CROP SCIENCES UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENT AWARDS and RECOGNITION, 2010-2011
Paige Graves, Heather Watson, Jacquelin Ebeling, Sarah Coffey,
Laura Seiferman, Cathy Kobylinski and Laura Kolb
First in Team Judging
(Southern Regional Soils Judging Contest)
Paige Graves – 2011 Bruce Maunder
Outstanding Student in Agronomy
(Texas – American Society of Agronomy)
Paige Graves – 1st place SASES Visual Presentation
Sarah Coffey – 2nd place SASES Visual Presentation
Payne Burks – 3rd place Poster Competition
(American Society of Agronomy)
SCSC Agronomy Society – Presidents’ Trophy Award,
2nd in National Club Poster Competition and
3rd in SASES Quiz Bowl
(American Society of Agronomy)
Laura Kolb, Lindsey Merritt, Kurt Spoor, Chris Dyess, Kent
Kieschnick, Reagan Hejl and Jaxson Bailey
4th in Student Challenge
(Sports Turf Managers Association Annual Conference)
Reagan Hejl and Lindsey Merritt
Toro University
(Toro Foundation)
Jessica Koepp, Jamie Faust and Paige Graves
Surface Mine Reclamation Workshop Scholarship
(Surface Mine Reclamation Workshop)
Undergraduate Dean’s Honor Roll
Paige A. Graves – Spring 2010
Kyle M. Hegi – Fall 2010
Katrina A. Horn – Fall 2010
Samuel Jeon – Fall 2010
Jessica M. Koepp – Spring 2010
Jake T. Weiss – Spring 2010
Mitchell J. Schumann – Spring 2010
Undergraduate Distinguished Student List
Reagan W. Hejl – Fall 2010
Lucas R. Dyer – Fall 2010
NOTE: Students must be enrolled in 15 hours and maintain
a 3.75 or 3.5 GPA respectively to be placed on these lists
GRADUATE STUDENT FELLOWSHIP/
ASSISTANTSHIP RECIPIENTS, 2010 - 2011
Brijesh Angira
Pathways to a Doctorate Assistantship
Henry Awika
Borlaug International Scholars Program
Ivan Barrero Farfan
Valdo Puskaric Pioneer Plant
Breeding Fellowship
Bhoja Raj Basnet Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug International
Scholars Program
Francis Beecher
Monsanto Graduate Assistantship in
Plant Breeding
Meredith Bilek
Marsha and Murray Milford ’55
Graduate Endowment
Tom Slick Fellowship
Christopher Chick Monsanto Beachell-Borlaug International
Scholars Program
Calvin Clary
Texas Water Resources Institute
Mills Scholarship
George “Trey” Cutts
Jim Florey
Monsanto Graduate Assistantship in
Plant Breeding
Texas Water Resources Institute
Mills Scholarship
Kendra Gregory
Graduate Diversity Fellowship
Derek Husmoen
Texas Water Resources Institute
Mills Scholarship
Rosa Jauregui
Monsanto Graduate Assistantship in
Plant Breeding
Tom Jondiko
Waniska Endowed Graduate Assistantship
Mason Kearns
R. C. Potts Turfgrass Assistantship Endowment
Carol Lange
J. Ron Quinby Endowed Graduate Assistantship
Adam Mahan
Monsanto Graduate Assistantship in
Plant Breeding
Meghyn Meeks
Monsanto Graduate Assistantship in
Plant Breeding
Harley Naumann
Haly Neely
Eng-Hwa Ng
Justin Ng
Pathways to a Doctorate Assistantship
Graduate Diversity Fellowship
Monsanto Graduate Assistantship in
Plant Breeding
Luminant Environmental Research Fellowship
Bharath Reddy
Pathways to a Doctorate Assistantship
Madahy Romero
Pathways to a Doctorate Assistantship
Julie Rothe
Monsanto Graduate Assistantship in
Plant Breeding
Sean Thompson
Monsanto Graduate Assistantship in
Plant Breeding
Aaron Turner
David Verbree
Jacob Washburn
Yujin Wen
Jatara Wise
Rice Belt Warehouse Graduate Assistantship
Graduate Diversity Fellowship
Henry M. Beachell Endowed Scholarship Fund
Tom Slick Fellowship
USDA National Needs Fellowship in Bioenergy
GRADUATE STUDENT ASSOCATION OFFICERS
Justin Ng – President
Jim Florey – Vice President
Kolbyn Joy – Treasurer
Katie Rothlisberger – Secretary
Yujin Wen – GSC Representative
SOIL & CROP SCIENCES GRADUATE
STUDENT AWARDS and RECOGNITION, 2010-2011
Edinalvo Camargo – Graduate Student Award
David Whitmire – First Place Poster
Ben McKnight – Second Place Poster
Zachary Eder – Third Place Poster
(Texas Plant Protection Association)
Zachary Eder – First Place Poster
(Southern Branch – Agronomy Society of America)
Kolbyn Joy – First Place Oral Competition
Neha Kothari – Second Place Oral Competition
(2010 Beltwide Cotton Conference)
Bhoja Basnet – Gerald O. Mott Meritorious
Graduate Student Award
(Crop Science Society of America)
Katie Rothlisberger – Second Place Poster
(SSSA International Annual Meeting)
Edinalvo Camargo - First Place Oral
(Southern Weed Science Society)
Chance Robinson – First Place Oral
Ryan Mueller – Second Place Oral
(Soil Survey & Land Resource Workshop)
Vladimir da Costa – First Place in Taxonomy,
Second Place Graduate Poster, Session Winner and
Interdisciplinary Research Ribbon Recognition
2010 Student Research Week
Justin Ng – Second Place Oral and Session Winner
2011 Student Research Week
(College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
SOIL & CROP SCIENCES FACULTY and STAFF
AWARDS and RECOGNITION, 2010-2011
Peter Dotray – Dow AgroSciences
Award for Excellence in Research
(American Peanut Research and Education Society)
Travis Miller – Texas A&M System Regents Honors
(Texas A&M University)
Monte Rouquette – Dedicated Service Award
(Southern Section of the American Society of Animal Science)
Jackie Rudd – 2010 Texas Wheat Man of the Year
(Texas Wheat Producers Board Association)
B. B. Singh – 2010 Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth Award
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Sam Feagley, Tony Provin, William Johnson,
Kevin Ong and Don Wilkerson –
Superior Service Award – Hurricane Ike Landscape
Recovery and Renovation Team
(Texas AgriLife Extension Service)
Diane Boellstorff, Nikki Dictson, Jennifer Peterson and Matt Berg
Superior Service Award - Texas Watershed Stewards Team
(Texas AgriLife Extension Service)
Cristine Morgan
Honored Professor
(College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Council)
Namesake for 25th T-Camp
(Texas A&M University)
2013 Chair of S1 Division
(Soil Physics, Soil Science Society of America)
David Baltensperger – Fellow
(American Association for the Advancement of Science)
Milton C. Englke – Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award
Monte Rouquette – Fellow
(Crop Science Society of America)
Sam Feagley – Irrometer Professional Certification Service Award
(Soil Science Society of America)
Charles Hallmark – Undergraduate Teaching
James Muir – Individual, Off-campus Research
Bio-Resource Cycling Team: Tony Provin, Don Vietor,
Richard White and others – Research Team
Rainwater Harvesting Task Force Team: Monty Dozier,
John Smith and others – Extension Team
Bill Rooney – Faculty Fellow
Vice Chancellor Awards in Excellence
(Texas A&M AgriLife)
Paul Baumann – 2010 Educator Achievement Award
(Texas Ag Industries Association)
SOIL and CROP SCIENCES DEPARTMENTAL AWARDS
Lindra Blum – Administrative Support
Cristine Morgan – Research
Emily Hollister – Research Collaboration
John Cason – Research Support
Beth Speer – Technical Staff Support
Jacob Reed – Graduate Research
Steve Hague – Teaching
Sarah Coffey – Undergraduate Student Support
Ceres, Inc. – Special Service Recognition
The Department of Soil and Crop Sciences would like to congratulate all of
the winners, thank the donors who have made these scholarships possible,
and thank all who support our department on a daily basis.