Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences

Students recognized at 2023 spring banquet

Dr. Sam Feagley speaking to the audience

Sam Feagley, Ph.D. speaks to the audience at the 30th Annual Department of Soil and Crop Sciences Awards and Recognition Banquet. Photos by Beth McClosky.

The Department of Soil and Crop Sciences congratulates all our students who received scholarships and awards during its annual Awards and Recognition Banquet held on Thursday, April 13 at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center.

Former professor Sam Feagley, Ph.D., delivered the keynote address.

The 2022-2023 Soil and Crop Sciences Outstanding Students were recognized. The recipients of the Outstanding Plant and Environmental Soil Science Student Awards are:

  • Hallie Cook: Outstanding Freshman
  • Jenna Mark: Outstanding Sophomore
  • Chris Barron: Outstanding Junior
  • Ryan Schronk: Outstanding Senior

The recipients of the Outstanding Turfgrass Science Student Awards are:

  • Cabot Ellis: Outstanding Freshman
  • Brandon Moczygemba: Outstanding Sophomore
  • Megan Muesse: Outstanding Junior
  • Canute Janish: Outstanding Senior

Scholarships were also awarded during the evening to several students, including:

  • Aliyah Abdur-Razzaq: Nathan R. Boles ’63 Norman Borlaug Endowed Scholarship
  • Gabriel Baguso: Dr. Cleveland and Frances Gerard Scholarship
  • Christopher Barron: H&H Ranch Scholarship, Luther Jones Outstanding Junior Scholarship, Milton and Carolyn E. McDaniel ’75 Scholarship, Pat and Ed Runge Future Leaders Endowed Scholarship
  • Brandon Bei: Milton and Carolyn E. McDaniel ’75 Scholarship, Dean Ide P. Trotter Sr. Memorial Scholarship
  • Meredith Clay: Luther Jones Outstanding Junior Scholarship, Milton and Carolyn E. McDaniel ’75 Scholarship, and Olin and Thelma Smith Scholarship
  • Hallie Cook: H&H Ranch Scholarship, Morris G. Merkle Endowed Scholarship, Henry Jean Mills Memorial Scholarship, Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
  • Emily Cox: McAfee Memorial Scholarship
  • Cabot Ellis: Texas Turfgrass Research Education Extension Scholarship, Jack Hulgan Memorial Scholarship, Sequor Foundation Endowed Turfgrass Scholarship
  • Arturo Espana: Warren and Helen Church Scholarship, Candelario ‘Cande’ Gonzalez ’74 Scholarship, Kenneth Lindsey Memorial Scholarship
  • Alex Gage: James Hubert Foster Scholarship, Kenneth and Marion Porter Endowed Scholarship, Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
  • Brook Isbell: J.C. and Judy Blue Undergraduate Scholarship, Ezra “Ezzy” Leschber Memorial Scholarship, Milton and Carolyn E. McDaniel ’75 Scholarship
  • Stadler Kirsten: Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
  • Ted Machacek: Paul Drummet Texas Turfgrass Scholarship, Sequor Foundation Endowed Turfgrass Scholarship
  • Alejandro Macias: Dean Ide P. Trotter Sr. Memorial Scholarship, Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
  • Andrew Marchetti: James Hubert Foster Scholarship, H&H Ranch Scholarship, Dick Holland Endowed Scholarship, Olin and Thelma Smith Endowed Scholarship, Texas Seed Trade Association Scholarship
  • Jenna Mark: Milton and Carolyn E. McDaniel ’75 Scholarship, Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
  • Brandon Moczygemba: Sequor Foundation Endowed Turfgrass Scholarship, Joseph D. Whitaker ’63 Scholarship
  • Megan Muesse: A.W. Barbara Crain Scholarship and the Keith Ebanks Memorial Scholarship
  • Paige Patel: J.F. Mills Endowed Scholarship
  • Dillon Petri: Charles A. Schneider ’70 Memorial Scholarship and the Charles ’63 and Lynann ’66 Simpson Endowed Scholarship
  • Maverick Raesz: Martha F. and Albert Novosad ’47 ’54 Scholarship
  • Gabriel Ramthun: Allen and Joan Wiese Endowed Scholarship
  • Carson Reed: Sequor Foundation Endowed Turfgrass Scholarship
  • Elliott Sankus: Sequor Foundation Endowed Turfgrass Scholarship, Texas Turfgrass Association Scholarship
  • Takanori Someya: Cecil and Ola Beasley Goodman Undergraduate Scholarship, Sunoco Energy Development Endowed Scholarship
  • Joshua Swaringen: J.C. and Judy Blue Undergraduate Scholarship
  • Reed Terrell: Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
  • Rute Tesfay: Billy, Gloria and Gerry Conrad Scholarship, Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
  • Ren Uyehara: Bill McLaughlin Texas Turfgrass Scholarship, Sequor Foundation Endowed Turfgrass Scholarship
  • Caden Vick: Frances and Miles Hall ’39 Endowed Scholarship, Allen and Joan Wiese Endowed Scholarship
  • Pedro Villanueva: Nathan R. Boles ’63 Norman Borlaug Endowed Scholarship
  • Logan Vincent: Joe S. Campise Memorial Scholarship, Dick Holland Endowed Scholarship
  • Heston Vollmering: Allen Mengers Memorial Scholarship, Sunoco Energy Development Scholarship

Banquet attendees also learned about the department’s student organization activities and accomplishments and departmental activities and accomplishments throughout the academic year.

Department announces awards during annual meeting

Ambika Chandra, Ph.D. (center) with her award. Standing with Chandra is B.B Singh, Ph.D. (left) and David Baltensperger, Ph.D., professor and department head.

Ambika Chandra, Ph.D. (center) receiving the B.B. Singh Award for Outstanding Research in Crop Sciences. Standing with Chandra is B.B Singh, Ph.D. (left) and David Baltensperger, Ph.D., professor and department head.

Congratulations to all our faculty, staff and students who received awards during the Soil and Crop Sciences’ annual meeting held on January 14 in College Station.

The department recognized the retirement of Dr. Jaroy Moore, Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Lubbock. Moore has been with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service for 53 years. He served as the station leader in Pecos in 1977, then became resident director in El Paso in 1995 before he became the director in Lubbock in 1998.

Fifteen faculty, staff, and students were also recognized and presented with the following awards:

Special Award

B.B. Singh Award for Outstanding Research in Crop Sciences: Ambika Chandra, Ph.D.

Administrative

Administrative Support: Alisa Hairston

Extension Awards

Extension Faculty Award: Scott Nolte, Ph.D.

Collaborating County Extension Agent: Shane McLellan, Ph.D.

Technical/Extension Staff Support: – Field Support: Kyle Turner

Special Service/Recognition: Texas Wheat Producers Board and Association, Amarillo, TX
Rodney Mosier, Executive Vice President and Ms. Steelee Fischbacher, Director of Policy

Research Awards

Research Faculty: Paul DeLaune, Ph.D

Graduate Student Research – Agronomy: Chengsong Hu

Graduate Student Research – Plant Breeding: Zhen Wang

Graduate Student Research – Soil Science: Harrison Cocker

Research Support – Field Support: Dale Mott

Research Support – Lab Support: Chantel Scheuring

Technical Staff Support: Vicki Gergeni

Postdoctoral Research: Heng-An Lin, Ph.D.

Teaching Awards

Teaching – Faculty: William (Bill) Rooney, Ph.D.

Graduate Student Teaching: Andrew Osburn

Department Recognizes Students at Spring Banquet

Henry Fadamiro, Ph.D.,Associate Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Texas A&M AgriLife Research delivers the keynote address.

Henry Fadamiro, Ph.D., Associate Director and Chief Scientific Officer for Texas A&M AgriLife Research, and Associate Dean of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, delivered the keynote address.  View more photos of the banquet on our Facebook album.

Congratulations to all our students who were recognized with awards and scholarships during the annual Awards and Recognition Banquet that was held at the Hildebrand Equine Center on Tuesday, April 12.

Associate Director and Chief Scientific Officer for Texas A&M AgriLife Research, and Associate Dean of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Henry Fadamiro, Ph.D., delivered the keynote address.

The 2021-22 Soil and Crop Science Outstanding Students were also recognized. The recipients of the Outstanding Plant and Environmental Soil Science Student Awards are:

  • Jenna Mark: Outstanding Freshman
  • Andrew Marchetti: Outstanding Sophomore
  • Chris Barron: Outstanding Junior
  • Grace Bodine and Ariana Lazo: Outstanding Seniors

The recipients of the Outstanding Turfgrass Science Student awards are:

  • Ted Machacek: Outstanding Sophomore
  • Canute Janish: Outstanding Junior
  • Ty Riley: Outstanding Senior

Scholarships were also awarded during the evening to several students, including:

  • Sophia Arista: Nathan R. Boles ’63 Norman Borlaug Endowed Scholarship, Dr. Cleveland & Frances Gerard Scholarship, Dick Holland Endowed Scholarship and Texas Trade Association Scholarship
  • Christopher Barron: Joe S. Campise Memorial Scholarship, Luther Jones Outstanding Junior Scholarship, Pat & Ed Runge Future Leaders Scholarship
  • Keegan Crawford: Cleveland & Frances Gerard Scholarship and Morris G. Merkle Endowed Scholarship
  • Arturo Espana: James Hubert Foster Scholarship, Dr. Cleveland & Frances Gerard Scholarship, Candelario ‘Cande’ Gonzalez ’74 Scholarship, and the Martha F. & Albert Novosad ’47 ’54 Scholarship
  • Ty Jansky: Warren and Helen Church Scholarship, Cecil & Ola Beasley Goodman Undergraduate Scholarship, Milton and Carolyn McDaniel ’75 Scholarship, Charles A. Schneider ’70 Memorial Scholarship, and the Sunoco Energy Development Endowed Scholarship
  • Alejandro Macias: Henry Jean Mills Memorial Scholarship, Dean Ide P. Trotter Sr. Memorial Scholarship, and Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
  • Jenna Mark: Allen and Joan Wiese Endowed Scholarship
  • Andrew Marchetti: Frances & Miles Hall ’39 Endowed Scholarship, Dick Holland Endowed Scholarship, and Olin & Thelma Smith Endowed Scholarship
  • John McCurdy: Kenneth Lindsey Memorial Scholarship and Charles ’63 & Lynann ’66 Simpson Memorial Scholarship
  • Megan Muesse: Kenneth Lindsey Memorial Scholarship and Milton and Carolyn E. McDaniel Scholarship and the Sequor Foundation Endowed Turfgrass Scholarship
  • Maverick Raesz: Charles A. Schneider ’70 Memorial Scholarship
  • Ryan Schronk: C. and Judy Blue Undergraduate Scholarship and J.F. Mills Endowed Scholarship
  • Chadwick Watters: Billy, Gloria and Gerry Conrad Scholarship and the Billie B. and Gloria S. Turner Production Scholarship
  • Will Hauser: W. and Barbara Crain Scholarship, Bill McLaughlin Texas Turfgrass Scholarship, Jack Hulgan Memorial Scholarship, and the Sunoco Energy Development Scholarship
  • Ted Machacek: Keith Ebanks Memorial Scholarship, Joseph D. Whitaker ’63 Scholarship, Texas Turfgrass Association Scholarship, and the Paul Drummet Texas Turfgrass Scholarship
  • Carson Reed: Texas Turfgrass Research Education Extension Scholarship

The 2022-2023 Freshman and Transfer Scholarship recipients are:

  • Will Hauser and Carson Reed: Texas Turfgrass Research Education Extension Scholarship
  • Christopher Barron, Brandon Bei, and Andrew Marchetti: H&H Ranch Scholarship
  • Logan Vincent: Kenneth and Marion Porter Endowed Scholarship

Attendees also learned about many of the of the department’s student organization activities and the department’s annual accomplishments and achievements throughout the year.

Read the complete list of donors and other awards that were mentioned during the banquet from our booklet. View all the photos of the banquet at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10159155044167955&type=3

 

SCSC announces awards during annual meeting

Congratulations to the faculty, staff and students who received awards during the Soil and Crop Sciences’ annual meeting held on January 14 in College Station.

Two faculty members were recognized with pins for their years of service. Professor Hongbin Zhang, Ph.D. was recognized for 30 years of service and Wayne Smith, Ph.D., professor and associate department head, for 50 years of service.

The department also gave 18 additional awards that included the following:

Administrative/Extension

B.B. Singh Administrative Staff Award: Judy Young
Young is a senior administrative coordinator and serves as the personal assistant to the department head and provides planning and scheduling and other administrative duties.

Administrative Support: Moji Olokode
Olokode is the administrative assistant to the Associate Department Head/Extension Program Leader. She assists with travel, maintains promotion and tenure files, and manages the front desk in the department’s business office.

Extension Awards

Extension Faculty Team Award: John Smith and Joel Pigg
Smith is an Extension Program Specialist and specializes in water resources and sustainable agriculture. Pigg is an Extension Program specialist that specializes in water well safety.

Collaborating County Extension Agent: Dennis Tyler Mays
Mays is an Extension Agent-IPM that serves Hill and McLennan Counties.

Technical/Extension Staff Support: – Field Support: Katrina Horn
Horn is a research associate and crop testing coordinator with the Texas A&M AgriLife Crop Testing Program based in College Station.

Special Service/Recognition: Beau Henderson
Henderson is the farm services manager at the AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Lubbock.

Research and Extension Collaboration: Meghyn Meeks, Ph.D.
Meeks is a Research Associate at the AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas.

Research Awards

Research Faculty: Katie Lewis, Ph.D
Lewis is an associate professor in Lubbock whose specialty is soil fertility and soil chemistry.

Graduate Student Research – Agronomy: Shilpa Singh
Shilpa is a Ph.D. student in Agronomy, focused on weed science, advised by Dr. Muthu Bagavathiannan.

Graduate Student Research – Plant Breeding: Catherine Danmaigona Clement
Catherine is a Ph.D. student in Plant Breeding advised by Drs. Steve Hague and Jane Dever and Libo Shan.

Graduate Student Research – Soil Science: Joseph Burke
Burke is a Ph.D. student in Soil Science advised by Drs. Katie Lewis and Julie Howe.

Research Support – Field Support: Shannon Baker
Baker is a Research Associate at the AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Amarillo specializing in wheat and UAVs.

Research Support – Lab Support: Josh Doria
Doria is a Master’s student in Soil Science and a lab technician in Dr. Julie Howe’s lab

Postdoctoral Research: Vanaja Kankarla, Ph.D.
Kankarla is a postdoctoral research associate in Dr. Muthu Bagavathiannan’s lab. She is responsible for project/program management, planning research, design and implementation, and student mentoring.

Teaching Awards

Teaching – Faculty: A. Peyton Smith, Ph.D.
Smith is a professor of Soil Science. Her specialty is soil carbon dynamics. She teaches Soil Science 301, mentors several graduate students and oversees undergraduate research projects.

Graduate Student Teaching: Brody Teare, Ph.D.
Teare received his Ph.D. in Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences in December 2021. He completed his research under Dr. Dirk Hays.

Student Awards

Undergraduate Student Support: Miles Marburger
Marburger is a senior Agricultural Communications and Journalism major who works in the department’s administration office.

The photos can be viewed on the Soil and Crop Sciences Facebook page

Redmon, Adak Receive Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence

Congratulations to Larry Redmon, Ph.D. and Ph.D student Alper Adak who received Vice Chancellor Awards in Excellence this year. These awards recognize the commitment and outstanding contributions displayed by faculty, students and staff members across Texas A&M AgriLife.

Extension Education Awards

The Extension Specialist or Program Specialist Award was presented to Larry Redmon, Ph.D., professor and associate department head and AgriLife Extension program leader. Redmon’s educational presentations and seminars bring participants into the conversation, along with his expertise and ability to entertain audiences. The Ranch Management University, which draws participants from around the world, is one example. Evaluations have proven the annual event is highly effective in helping people adopt ranch management practices and land stewardship with an economic impact of $84 million. Redmon also spearheads the Bennett Trust programs. One of these programs caters specifically to women, providing them with the knowledge needed to make land stewardship and natural resource management decisions. Many attendees are new landowners and have little knowledge of where to begin with land ownership.

Research Awards

The Graduate Student Research Award recipient was Alper Adak, a doctoral student in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. Since enrolling in his doctoral program in 2018, Adak has been the primary author of four peer-reviewed research articles, greatly exceeding the standard for students in his department. He has given invited talks at international conferences and been sought out as a peer reviewer for publications in his field. One of his accomplishments was to conceive of and create a way to utilize unmanned aircraft systems data from the corn breeding and quantitative genetics program to predict yield and flowering times. However, his primary project is to identify genes responsible for the late flowering of Texas A&M AgriLife germplasm in northern climates. His poster on that work won first prize in the largest division at the Crop Science Society International Meeting in 2019.

A full list of awards was announced in AgriLife Today.

Charles Simpson honored for lifetime dedication to peanuts

Story by Kay Ledbetter

For 54 years, Charles Simpson, Ph.D., has been making a difference in the peanut products America eats – and on July 1, he was honored by the American Peanut Council with the 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award at the USA Peanut Congress in New Orleans.

Simpson, peanut germplasm explorer and breeder for Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Stephenville, was recognized “for his tireless efforts in peanut germplasm collection and preservation.”

Charles Simpson

Charles Simpson, peanut germplasm explorer, breeder and Texas A&M AgriLife Research emeritus (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

Simpson, a professor emeritus in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences plant breeding program, retired in 2003 but still maintains an extensive germplasm collection at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Stephenville.

“This award is the most prestigious honor in the industry,” said Shelly Nutt, executive director and leadership in the Texas Peanut Producers Board, who nominated Simpson. “Dr. Simpson has been recognized internationally for his efforts in collection preservation, maintenance, distribution and use of wild and exotic germplasm.

“Still today, he remains one of the leading experts in wild species peanuts and his accomplishments have opened the possibility of using the vast reservoir of genes in wild peanuts to improve cultivated peanuts,” Nutt said in her nomination.

Simpson still diligently “volunteers” daily at the greenhouses to preserve and utilize the peanut collection, mentor colleagues and students, and provide expert advice to industry partners, said Bill McCutchen, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife center director at Stephenville.

“Dr. Simpson is a treasure of knowledge for the industry and very deserving of this award,” McCutchen said. “Even almost 20 years after his retirement, he actively remains involved in maintaining the collection here, making him the foremost authority in the U.S. with respect to collection, evaluation and preservation of genetic resources of peanuts.”

The Texas Peanut Producers board has pledged funds to the Charles Simpson Endowment for the AgriLife Research peanut collection, one of the largest, most diverse collections worldwide, and can no longer be replicated, McCutchen said.

A lifetime dedicated to peanuts

Simpson has spent over 50 years serving the peanut industry as a breeder, successfully transferring at minimum seven different disease resistances as well as high oil content into over 23 cultivars and an additional seven germplasm releases.

One of his major accomplishments over his long career occurred when his program released the first root-knot nematode-resistant peanut cultivar created from a wild species peanut introgression. He introduced resistance genes from wild species collected in east-central Bolivia in 1980 to address root-knot nematode, a serious threat to peanut production in parts of Texas.

He released COAN, the first root-knot resistant peanut cultivar in the world, as well as Webb, the first high oleic nematode-resistant peanut released by the AgriLife Research program. The gene introgression for nematode resistance was made from a complex hybrid involving three wild species peanuts.

But Simpson might be most renowned in peanut breeding circles for his lifelong passion for collecting and preserving wild and cultivated Arachis germplasm. His extensive germplasm-gathering forays have included trips to Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

In 1980, Simpson assumed the role as co-leader of the Arachis – flowering plants in the pea family – germplasm project and traveled annually until 2004. His desire to collect and preserve the peanut species carried him to remote and inaccessible areas of South America on over 28 collection expeditions, his nomination stated.

His work was funded by the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, a part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy. Through his collection trips, Simpson and his colleagues collected over 1,800 wild peanut accessions, over 5,500 cultivated landraces and over 500 Rhizomatous accessions.

Charles Simpson in greenhouse

Charles Simpson, Ph.D., stands among his collection in the greenhouse. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by John Cason)

Today, his research continues to influence. In a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant, Plant Breeding Partnerships: Genomics-Assisted Introgression and Molecular Dissection of Resistance to Pests and Diseases in Peanut, the breeding team will transfer novel wild species alleles from a population developed by Simpson into a set of back-crossed breeding lines sharing a common, popular genetic background. Each possesses a small segment of chromosomal DNA inherited from the wild species parents.

Sharing knowledge for future generations

Simpson has been author or co-author on 22 species descriptions and was a leader in translating the peanut monograph describing 69 of the 81 wild species into English. In addition, he was co-editor of subsequent supplemental publications with new species descriptions.

He also has authored or co-authored 133 refereed journal articles, 179 scientific presentations, 131 popular press articles and 19 book chapters.

“I am deeply grateful for this recognition of the work I have loved doing for the past 53 years,” Simpson said. “There are no plans on my part to stop doing the work to aid the younger generation in utilizing the valuable plant collection we have assembled. The collection will be the lifeblood of peanut improvement for many years into the future.”

Student Receives Senior Merit Award

The Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences congratulates the outstanding students receiving 2021 Senior Merit Awards. Presented by the College for over 50 years, these awards recognize the best of the best graduating seniors.

Walker Crane head shot

Walker Crane

Walker Crane

Walker Crane is a Plant & Environmental Soil Science major. In his free time, Walker enjoys hiking, cooking, and playing golf. Upon graduation this May, he will continue his education with a Masters in Soil Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Congratulations Walker on your hard work and dedication!

Baldi, Hague, Ibrahim receive Vice Chancellor Awards in Excellence

Congratulations to Heather Baldi, LeAnn Hague, and Amir Ibrahim, Ph.D. who all received Vice Chancellor’s Awards in Excellence this year. These awards recognize the commitment and outstanding contributions displayed by faculty, students and staff members across Texas A&M AgriLife.

Teaching Awards

The Graduate Student Teaching Award was presented to Heather Baldi, graduate research assistant, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. Baldi’s duties as a graduate teaching assistant involved directing, mentoring and advising student-led science projects and presentations. She also helped train graduate students and undergraduate student workers on the perennial grass breeding and genetics lab procedures. She also served as an officer in the Soil and Crop Sciences Graduate Organization. Her research advisor said, “I believe Heather will be a superior instructor and researcher in the future, and I have no doubt she will be successful in her career.”

Staff Awards

The Office and Administrative Staff Award was presented to LeAnn Hague, senior academic advisor, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences dean’s office. Hague helped develop/coordinate the Distance Education Program in Plant Breeding in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, provided administrative support for the Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences graduate program, and coordinated several symposia for the Plant Breeding Grand Challenges initiative. A nominator said Hague, “has the unique ability to counsel students who are excelling as well as students who are struggling. Her counsel is practical, with the appropriate levels of compassion, empathy and kindness, but with sternness when necessary.”

International Achievement Award

The International Involvement Award was presented to Amir Ibrahim, Ph.D., professor and AgriLife Research small grains breeder, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. Ibrahim is an international leader in wheat breeding, known for his work as an educator, graduate student advisor, geneticist and expert in end-use quality characteristics. Ibrahim served as an ambassador for the U.S. Wheat Industry in seven countries. In addition to his duties as a professor and researcher, he serves as the department liaison for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center and International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas.

A full list of award winners was announced on AgriLife Today.

 

Two Texas A&M students named Borlaug Scholars by plant breeders association

By: Beth Ann Luedeker
Two students from the Texas A&M University’s Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Tia Dunbar and Ammani Kyanam, were among those named as Borlaug Scholars for 2020 by the National Association of Plant Breeders, NAPB.

“Both Tia and Ammani’s resumes reveal outstanding students with the potential to follow closely in the footsteps of Dr. Norman Borlaug in relieving hunger and poverty through plant breeding,” said Don Jones, chair, NAPB Borlaug Scholars committee.

Norman Borlaug in wheat field

The scholars program is named after Dr. Norman Borlaug, a plant breeder known as the Father of the Green Revolution.


The NAPB Borlaug Scholarship awards are given to exceptional students aspiring to careers in plant breeding and genetics and who have a strong desire to contribute to the improvement of the plants that we all depend upon for our daily needs, according to NAPB.

This is especially critical in this age of continually increasing populations, climate change and uncertain global food security – issues Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution and also a plant breeder, cared about deeply. Plant breeding uniquely addresses these challenges through applied research and improving technologies, according to the association.

Dunbar is a master’s student under Michael Thomson, Ph.D., professor and HM Beachell Rice Chair with Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Kyanam is a doctoral student working with Bill Rooney, Ph.D., AgriLife Research Faculty Fellow and sorghum breeder.

Each wants to help improve agriculture through plant breeding, but they are approaching it from different angles.

Tia Dunbar

Dunbar is working to optimize “in planta” gene-editing techniques using nanotechnologies, while Kyanam is mapping quantitative trait loci, or QTL, for sugarcane aphid tolerance and evaluating a chemical male gametocide.

Tia Dunbar

Tia Dunbar


“Most gene editing methods for crop improvement require time and labor-intensive in vitro tissue culture techniques,” Dunbar said in her application. “Bypassing the in vitro regeneration processes could facilitate gene editing and expand its use.”

“If we are successful, our optimized gene-editing protocol will enable accelerated improvement of rice,” Dunbar said.

While her research currently focuses on rice, Dunbar hopes to pursue a career that applies gene-editing techniques to a broader range of organisms.

“Growing up, my family did not always have access to healthy food, so I chose to major in plant breeding to learn more about crop improvement,” Dunbar said. “I see biotechnology as the key to manipulate agriculture to better serve the growing population and ease the suffering caused by hunger and malnutrition.”

Ammani Kyanam

Kyanam said she chose to pursue agriculture because of Borlaug, “but I chose plant breeding when I learned how direct an impact it had on the livelihoods of farmers, especially small farmers.”

Ammani Kyanam


As an undergraduate at the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University in Hyderabad, India, Kyanam participated in the Rural Agricultural Work Experience Programme, RAWEP, where she shadowed a small farmer for a crop season.

“My inquiries showed me that farmers had progressive views about purchasing seed, and the boon that was BT cotton,” she said. “It also helped that my father was a seed salesman, and I had learned how important quality seed is to a farming operation.”

Fortunately for Kyanam, she not only loved plant breeding as a subject, but also has a knack for it. Her current focus is streamlining the sorghum breeding process.

“For my doctoral research, I am testing a chemical gametocide, triflouromethanesulfonamide, to assess its potential in generating testcross hybrid seed,” she said. “Hybrid seed production relies on male-sterile seed parents, and the current process to develop those parents is tedious and time consuming.”

Kyanam plans to pursue a career in an applied breeding program, developing new breeding materials and commercial hybrids, as well as evaluating pre-commercial hybrids.

“My secondary goal is to work in science communication and to contribute to clearing up the misinformation that is so prevalent,” Kyanam said.
Students making a difference

Both young women are active outside the classroom as well.

Dunbar is an officer in the Texas A&M Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science chapter and the University’s Women in Science and Engineering organization. She is an active member of Texas A&M’s Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences and was on the organizing committee for the Texas A&M Plant Breeding Symposium in 2020.

Kyanam is a founding member of the Corteva Plant Science Series’ Student Advisory Council and a graduate student liaison for NAPB’s communication committee. She has chaired several plant breeding symposia at Texas A&M and was a founding officer in the Soil and Crop Sciences Graduate Organization.

Redmon among Texas A&M honorees at annual crop, soil science conferences

Writer: Kay Ledbetter

A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service leader will be honored along with other Texas A&M faculty and students for their professional achievements Nov. 10-13 in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, San Antonio.

The recognitions will be made by the Crop Sciences Society of America, or CSSA; the American Society of Agronomy, or ASA; and the Soil Sciences Society of America, or SSSA, during their annual conference.

ASA Fellow

Larry Redmon

Dr. Larry Redmon has been named a Fellow of the Agronomy Society of America.

Larry Redmon, Ph.D., will be named an ASA Fellow on Nov. 12. Redmon is the associate department head and AgriLife Extension program leader for the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M, administering one of the largest agronomic extension units in the country.

He also serves as the AgriLife Extension state forage specialist, where he participates in educational programs across the state; and he serves as AgriLife Extension’s first endowed specialist responsible for oversight of the Bennett Trust Endowment and associated land stewardship programs in the Edwards Plateau.

ASA’s annual awards are presented for outstanding contributions to agronomy through education, national and international service, and research. Fellow is the highest recognition bestowed by ASA. Members nominate colleagues based on their professional achievements and meritorious service.

Redmon is a certified professional in forage and grassland, wildlife biology, turfgrass management and rangeland management. His research and educational outreach focus on establishment, management and utilization of forages to improve production systems and protect valuable natural resources.

Internationally recognized for his work in forage management, he has made presentations to delegations from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Poland, Tunisia and Venezuela.

Redmon has garnered $7.8 million in grants, produced 32 refereed journal articles and 98 Extension publications, helped to train 35 graduate students, and has participated in 1,275 educational programs with over 82,000 attendees.

He has provided leadership for both ASA and CSSA, and at the regional, state and local levels in educational program and materials development in both Oklahoma and Texas. He currently serves as associate editor for the Agrosystems, Geosciences and Environment publication.

Redmon previously received two Certificate of Excellence awards from ASA for the Lone Star Healthy Streams program, as well as for his electronic newsletter, “The Pasture Gazette.”

He earned a bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Stephen F. Austin State University and a doctorate in range science from Texas A&M. He spent six years with Oklahoma State University before joining AgriLife Extension in 1999 as a forage specialist at Overton. He moved to College Station in 2004.

Other Award Winners:

Golden Opportunity Scholars – Kade Flynn, a College Station native, is a junior geology major who works in the soils lab at Texas A&M.

Nicole Shigley

Nicole Shigley

Frank D. Keim Graduate Fellowship – Nicole Shigley, of Spring, TX, is working on her master’s degree in soil science. Shigley was a Golden Opportunity Scholar last year, and recently coached the soil judging team as they qualified for nationals.

Gabriel Janish

Gabriel Janish

Greenfield Scholars – ASA – Gabriel Janish, of Bellville, is a junior working toward his plant and environmental soil science degree. He was part of the Champion Aggie Quiz Bowl team at the Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Sciences conference a year ago.

Aniruddha Maity

Gerald O. Mott Award – CSSA – Aniruddha Maity, of Kolkata, India, a doctoral student in plant breeding. His research is focused on the physiological and molecular aspects of seed dormancy and shattering in ryegrass.

Sarah Marsh

Sarah Marsh

National Association of Plant Breeders Borlaug Undergraduate Scholars – Sarah Marsh, Arbuckle, California, a senior plant and environmental soil science student. She is a member of the undergraduate Agronomy Society, along with participating in a study abroad program to Brazil. She has been recognized with the Texas A&M President’s Endowed Scholarship, as well as numerous department-level scholarships.

Julie Howe, Ph.D.

Lloyd R. Frederick Soil Teaching Travel Study Award- SSSA – Julie Howe, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research soil chemistry and fertility associate professor, College Station.

Boaxin "Bob" Chang

Boaxin “Bob” Chang

Chris Stiegler Turf Science Student Travel Award and Fellowship – CSSA – This award will be presented to both Boaxin “Bob” Chang, a doctoral student in soil sciences from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, and Will Bowling, a master’s student in turfgrass science from Suwanee, Georgia.

Will Bowling


Caitlin Lakey

Caitlyn Lakey of Porter, TX, received a U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture internship earlier in the year and will be recognized at the meetings. Lakey is working on her master’s degree in plant breeding. She also has previously been a Golden Opportunity Scholar.