MADISON, WI, October 15, 2008 -- The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) recognized the following individuals as the 2008 SSSA Fellows at a special Awards Ceremony during their Annual Meeting on Oct. 5-9 in Houston, TX.
Members of the Society nominate worthy colleagues based on their professional achievements and meritorious service. Only .3 percent of the Society's active and emeritus members may be elected Fellow. The 2008 class of SSSA Fellows are:
- Thomas W. Bruulsema - International Plant Nutrition Institute. Thomas W. Bruulsema is director for the Northeastern Region of the North American Program of the International Plant Nutrition Institute, based in Guelph, Ontario. He holds a B.Sc. and an M.Sc. in crop science from the University of Guelph, and a Ph.D. in soil science from Cornell University. His research and education programs focus on responsible, science-based management of plant nutrients. Two recent publications edited include Managing Crop Nitrogen for Weather, and Quantifying and Understanding Plant Nitrogen Uptake for Systems Modeling.
- Seth M. Dabney - USDA-ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory. Seth Dabney is a research agronomist at the USDA National Sedimentation Lab in Oxford, MS. He also serves as adjunct professor at Mississippi State University, The University of Mississippi, and The University of Tennessee. Dr. Dabney earned his B.A. degree from Hamilton College and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University. His research program focuses on buffers for soil and water conservation and integrated conservation farming. Dabney is the current ARS lead for the development and support of the RUSLE2 conservation planning tool and serves as the technical editor of the Soil Science Society of America Journal.
- Steve R. Evett - USDA-ARS, Bushland, TX. Steve R. Evett is research soil scientist at the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX. He received a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Idaho, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in soil and water science from the University of Arizona. Evett conducts research in irrigation automation using near-surface sensors, crop water use and water use efficiency, and soil water measurement and sensing systems. He is associate editor for Vadose Zone Journal.
- Yan Jin, University of Delaware. Yan Jin is professor of Environmental Soil Physics in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at University of Delaware. She received her B.S. from Hebei Agricultural University in China, M.S. from New Mexico State University, and Ph.D. from University of California-Riverside. Dr. Jin's research focuses on experimental and theoretical investigations of colloid (including viruses and nanoparticles) and colloid-facilitated contaminant transport in soil and groundwater. She serves as an associate editor for Vadose Zone Journal, and has been active in the Soil Science Society of America, American Geophysics Union, and American Chemical Society.
- Thomas C. Kaspar - USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory & Iowa State University. Thomas C. Kaspar is a plant physiologist at the USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, IA and a collaborator/professor with the Agronomy Department at Iowa State University. He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Iowa State University. His research program focuses mainly on crop and soil management to improve water quality and soil productivity. Dr. Kaspar is an associate editor for Soil Science Society of America Journal and a past-chair of Division S06. He has served on numerous committees and service functions for ASA and SSSA.
- Newell R. Kitchen - University of Missouri. Newell R. Kitchen is a soil scientist with the Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit of the USDA-ARS at Columbia, Missouri. Dr. Kitchen received a B.S. degree from Brigham Young University, M.S. degree from University of Missouri, and Ph.D. degree from Colorado State University. His program focuses on applying new technologies for collecting high-resolution soil and crop information, thereby enabling improved management decisions. He has been active in organizing tri-society meeting symposia, has served as an associate editor for Agronomy Journal (soils division), and is current Board Representative for the Integrated Agricultural Systems Division.
- David A. Laird, USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory. David A. Laird is a soil scientist with the USDA-ARS National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, IA, and a collaborative professor in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University. He received a B.S. from the University of Kansas, M.S. from Oregon State University, and Ph.D. from Iowa State University. His program focuses on biochar, soil clay mineralogy and environmental soil chemistry. Dr. Laird has served as associate editor for Soil Science Society of America Journal and Clays and Clay Minerals and he is active in both the Soil Science Society of America and the Clay Minerals Society.
- R. Richard Lowrance, USDA-ARS Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory. R. Richard Lowrance is a Research Ecologist and Lead Scientist at the Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Tifton, GA. Dr. Lowrance received a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of South Alabama and his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia. His program focuses mainly on nutrient cycling and water quality in agricultural watersheds. Lowrance served as Chair for Division S-10 Wetland Soils of SSSA and served as an associate editor for Journal of Environmental Quality and on the Publications Board for the Soil and Water Conservation Society.
- Liwang Ma, USDA-ARS Fort Collins, CO. Liwang Ma is a soil scientist with USDA-ARS, Agricultural Systems Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colorado. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from China Agricultural University and his Ph.D. degree from Louisiana State University. His research interests in agricultural system modeling extend from water/chemical transport in soils, to soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics and plant growth. Dr. Ma has contributed to and improved several components of the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM). He is a key contact for RZWQM.
- Michael J. McLaughlin, CSIRO. Michael J. McLaughlin is Chief Research Scientist and Director of CSIRO Centre for Environmental Contaminants Research in Adelaide, Australia and professor in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide. He has worked in three continents and focuses primarily on soil and environmental chemistry. Dr. McLaughlin looks at the behavior and toxicity of nutrients and contaminants in soil-plant system, the assessment and remediation of contaminated soils, and use of advanced techniques to measure and monitor nutrients and pollutants in the environment.
- Francis J. Pierce, Washington State University. Francis J. Pierce is Director of the Center for Precision Agricultural Systems and Professor in the Departments of Crop and Soil Sciences and Biological Systems Engineering at Washington State University. He earned his B.S.degree in Geology from the State University of New York at Brockport and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota. His program focuses mainly on soil management and precision agriculture. He was elected as the 2008 President-Elect of the American Society of Agronomy and will serve as president in 2010.
- Michael L. Thompson, Iowa State University. Michael L. Thompson is a professor in the Agronomy Department at Iowa State University. He received a B.S. in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Illinois and his Ph.D. in Agronomy from Ohio State University. His teaching and research programs focus on environmental soil chemistry and mineralogy. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Environmental Quality. He has served as chair of Soil Science Society of America's Division S-9 Soil Mineralogy and on numerous other committees in the Soil Science Society of America and the American Society of Agronomy.
- Gary E. Varvel, USDA-ARS Lincoln, NE. Gary E, Varvel is a soil scientist with the USDA-ARS Agroecosystem Management Research Unit at Lincoln, NE located in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska. He received a B.A. degree from Chadron St. College and Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska. His research focuses on the effects of long-term integrated soil and crop management systems on soil and crop responses in both dryland and irrigated environments. Dr. Varvel served as an associate editor for both Soil Science Society of America Journal and Agronomy Journal.
- Paul L. Vlek, University of Bonn, Germany. Paul L. Vlek is executive director of the Center for Development Research and professor at the University of Bonn, Germany. Trained as a Tropical Soil Scientist in Wageningen and Colorado State University, he conducts research on the sustainable use of natural resources in the tropics in relation to development processes. Dr. Vlek is fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of India and of the American Society of Agronomy. He is editor in chief of Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems and serves on several other editorial boards.
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For more information on the recipients or on the awards presented, please view the ASA-CSSA-SSSA Awards Program PDF online, https://www.acsmeetings.org/2008/files/awards-08.pdf. Photos of the recipients are available to view and download online at: www.soils.org/awards/recipients. For additional assistance, contact Sara Uttech, 608-268-4948, suttech@soils.org.
The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is a progressive, international scientific society that fosters the transfer of knowledge and practices to sustain global soils. Based in Madison, WI, and founded in 1936, SSSA is the professional home for 6,000+ members dedicated to advancing the field of soil science. It provides information about soils in relation to crop production, environmental quality, ecosystem sustainability, bioremediation, waste management, recycling, and wise land use.
SSSA supports its members by providing quality research-based publications, educational programs, certifications, and science policy initiatives via a Washington, DC, office. For more information, visit www.soils.org. SSSA is the founding sponsor of an approximately 5,000-square foot exhibition, Dig It! The Secrets of Soil, which opened on July 19, 2008 at the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum in Washington, DC. For more information, visit www.soils.org/smithsonian.