News Release

Awards Contact: Sara Uttech, Senior Manager–Governance & Membership, 608-268-4948, suttech@sciencesocieties.org

MADISON, WI, OCTOBER 1, 2013 – The American Society of Agronomy (ASA) announces the following 2013 awards to be formally presented at the ASA Awards Ceremony on Nov. 5 during the scientific society’s Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL. ASA has been selecting outstanding members as Fellows since 1924. 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 2013 class of ASA Fellows are:

• Mahdi M. Al-Kaisi, Iowa State University: Mahdi Al-Kaisi is a Professor in the Agronomy Department at Iowa State University. He received a B.S. degree in Soil Science from the University of Baghdad, Iraq, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Soil Science from North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND.
• Bruno Basso, Michigan State University: Bruno Basso is an associate professor and agronomist in the Department of Geological Sciences and W.K. Kellogg Biological Station at Michigan State University. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Naples in Italy, and Ph.D. degree from Michigan State University.
• Scott A. Bradford, USDA-ARS: Scott A. Bradford is a research soil scientist with the USDA-ARS at the United States Salinity Laboratory in Riverside-California. He received a B.S. degree from Brigham Young University, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California-Riverside.
• H. Arnold Bruns, USDA-ARS: Arnold Bruns is a research agronomist with the Crop Production Systems Research Unit of the USDA-ARS at Stoneville, MS. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Missouri, and Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University.
• Pengyin Chen, University of Arkansas: Pengyin Chen is a professor and soybean breeder in the Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Arkansas. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Northwest University of Agriculture, and Ph.D. degree from Virginia Tech.
• Jorge Dubcovsky, University of California-Davis: Jorge Dubcovsky is a professor at the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of California-Davis, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher. Dr. Dubcovsky has made major contributions in the areas of wheat genetics, genomics, and breeding.
• David W. Franzen, North Dakota State University: David Franzen is professor and extension soil specialist in the soils department of the School of Natural Resource Sciences at North Dakota State University. He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees under Ted Peck from the University of Illinois.
• Arthur J. Gold, University of Rhode Island: Arthur J. Gold is professor and chair of the Department of Natural Resources Science at the University of Rhode Island. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. degree from Michigan State University.
• Prasanna H. Gowda, USDA-ARS: Prasanna Gowda is a tesearch sgricultural rngineer with USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, TX. He received a B.S. degree from Bangalore University, M.S. degree from University of Mysore, and Ph.D. from Ohio State University.
• Zhenli He, University of Florida: Zhenli He is a professor and soil scientist at the Soil and Water Science Department at University of Florida. He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Zhejiang University, China.
• Zhonghu He, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences: Zhonghu He is a distinguished scientist for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, and research professor of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science. He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the China Agricultural University.
• Richard T. Koenig, Washington State University: Rich Koenig is a professor, associate dean and the director of extension at Washington State University. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Alaska, and Ph.D. degree from Washington State University.
• John L. Kovar, USDA-ARS: John Kovar is a research soil scientist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service at the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in Ames, IA. He received a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University.
• Alexandra N. Kravchenko, Michigan State University: Alexandra Kravchenko is a professor at the Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences at Michigan State University. She received a B.S. degree from Moscow State University, Russia, and a Ph.D. degree from the University of Wyoming.
• Robert B. Mitchell, USDA-ARS: Rob Mitchell is a research agronomist with USDA-ARS and adjunct professor in the Agronomy and Horticulture Department at the University of Nebraska. He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Nebraska.
• Vimala Nair, University of Florida: Vimala Nair is a research professor in the Soil and Water Science Department at the University of Florida. She received B.S. and M.S. degrees from Kerala University, India, and a Ph.D. from Göttingen University, Germany.
• Sharon Papiernik, USDA-ARS: Sharon Papiernik is research leader and soil scientist at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, SD. Sharon studies soil processes that affect the fate and transport of organic compounds and crop productivity.

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An electronic version of this News Release is posted to: acsmeetings.org/newsroom/award-news-releases.

For more information on the 2013 ASA awards, including award descriptions, visit: www.agronomy.org/awards/view or contact Sara Uttech, Senior Manager–Governance & Membership, 608-268-4948, suttech@sciencesocieties.org. Photos of the recipients receiving their awards will be posted to our Newsroom page following the Annual Meetings: acsmeetings.org/newsroom/award-news-releases. For more information on the 2013 Annual Meetings, visit: www.acsmeetings.org.