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

Department Celebrates Spring 2023 Graduation

The Department of Soil and Crop Sciences congratulates twenty-six of our newest graduates for the spring 2023 semester!

A total of 11 undergraduates were celebrated during the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 11, and 15 total graduates during the master’s degree commencement and doctoral hooding ceremony on Saturday, May 13.

We are very proud of you for the efforts you have made throughout your time with the department and wish each of you the very best in the next phase of your life!

Undergraduate Students:

  • Sophia Arista: Bachelor of Science, Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences, Crops Emphasis
  • Piper Hansen: Bachelor of Science, Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences, Crops Emphasis
  • Tyler Jamerson: Bachelor of Science, Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences, Crops Emphasis
  • Ty Jansky: Bachelor of Science, Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences, Crops Emphasis
  • Ryan Schronk: Bachelor of Science, Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences, Crops Emphasis
  • Gabrielle Scott: Bachelor of Science, Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences, Soil and Water Emphasis
  • Scott Bacon: Bachelor of Science, Turfgrass Science
  • Thomas Hauser: Bachelor of Science, Turfgrass Science
  • Jean-Marie Holmes: Bachelor of Science, Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences, Crops Emphasis
  • Chadwick Watters: Bachelor of Science, Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences, Crops Emphasis
  • Micaela Murphy: Bachelor of Science, Plant and Environmental Soil Sciences, Crops Emphasis

Graduate Students – Master of Science:

  • Kisman Bhattarai: Master of Science, Agronomy. Bhattari is supervised by Nithya Rajan, Ph.D.
  • Gustavo Camargo Silva: Master of Science, Agronomy. Silva is supervised by Muthu Bagavathiannan, Ph.D.
  • Jose Diaz: Master of Science, Agronomy. Diaz is supervised by Ben Wherley, Ph.D.
  • Jonathan Huynh: Master of Science, Plant Breeding. Huynh is supervised by Russ Jessup, Ph.D.
  • Mitchell Kent: Master of Science, Plant Breeding. Kent is supervised by Bill Rooney, Ph.D.
  • Fabian Leon: Master of Science, Plant Breeding. Leon is supervised by Bill Rooney, Ph.D.
  • Morgan McCulloch: Master of Science, Agronomy. McCulloch is supervised by Regan Noland, Ph.D.
  • Alexis Schultz: Master of Science, Plant Breeding. Schultz is supervised by Steve Hague, Ph.D.

Graduate Students – Doctoral:

  • Catherine Danmaigona Clement: Ph.D., Plant Breeding. Clement is co-supervised by Steve Hague, Ph.D., and Jane Dever, Ph.D.
  • Will Dodge: Ph.D., Plant Breeding. Dodge is supervised by Steve Hague, Ph.D., and Jane Dever, Ph.D.
  • Jake Gendron: Ph.D., Plant Breeding. Gendron is supervised by Wayne Smith, Ph.D.
  • Sarah Kezar: Ph.D., Agronomy. Kezar is supervised by Muthu Bagavathiannan, Ph.D.
  • Rahul Raman: Ph.D., Agronomy. Raman is supervised by Nithya Rajan, Ph.D.
  • Sayantan Samanta: Ph.D., Water Management and Hydrological Science. Samanta is supervised by Cristine Morgan, Ph.D., and Julie Howe, Ph.D.
  • Shilpa Singh: Ph.D., Agronomy. Singh is supervised by Muthu Bagavathiannan, Ph.D.

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

Congratulations August 2022 Graduates!

The Department of Soil and Crop Sciences would like to congratulate our newest graduates for the Spring 2022 semester! We are proud of you for the efforts you have made throughout your time with the department and wish each of you the very best in the next phase of your life!

Undergraduate Students

  • Joshua Kostroun, B.S., Plant and Environmental Sciences
  • Ross Mikolajczyk, B.S., Plant and Environmental Sciences

Graduate Students

  • Conlan Burbrink, Master of Science, Agronomy
  • Jamshaid Junaid, Ph.D., Plant Breeding
  • Ammani Kyanam, Ph.D., Plant Breeding
  • Xiaoqing Shen, Ph.D., Agronomy
  • Homa Zarghami, Ph.D., Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences

Congratulations Spring 2022 Graduates

The Department of Soil and Crop Sciences would like to congratulate our newest graduates for the Spring 2022 semester! We are proud of you for the efforts you have made throughout your time with the department and wish each of you the very best in the next phase of your life!

Undergraduate Students

  • Steven Accrocco – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Grace Bodine – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Soil and Water Emphasis
  • Steven Botello – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Jaycie Braune – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Cameron Colvin – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Aaron Cormier – B.S. Turfgrass Science
  • Eduardo Jose De La Garza – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science
  • Koehler Doucette – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Keaton Emerson – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Lane Grymes – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Hanna Insley – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Soil and Water Emphasis
  • Mackenzie Jeter – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Kurt Korenek – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Ty Korenek – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Ariana Lazo – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Soil and Water Emphasis
  • Jessica Loera – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Andrew McFarland – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Soil and Water Emphasis
  • Christopher O’Brien – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Soil and Water Emphasis
  • Ty Riley – B.S. Turfgrass Science
  • Cosme Rodriguez – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Brody Schmalriede – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Andrew Stolte – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Crops Emphasis
  • Kathryn Watkins – B.S. Plant and Environmental Soil Science, Soil and Water Emphasis

Graduate Students

  • Alper Adak – Ph.D. in Plant Breeding advised by Dr. Seth Murray.
  • Ilse Barrios Perez – Ph.D. in Molecular Environmental Plant Sciences, advised by Dr. Dirk Hays.
  • Sudip Biswas – Ph.D. in Plant Breeding, advised by Dr. Endang Septiningsih
  • Aya Bridgeland – M.S. in Plant Breeding, She is advised by Dr. Endang Septiningsih
  • Annalee Epps – M.S. in Soil Science. She is advised by Dr. Julie Howe and Dr. Peyton Smith.
  • Aditi Pandey – Ph.D. in Soil Science. She is advised by Dr. Paul Schwab.
  • Bishwa Sapkota – Ph.D. in Agronomy. He is advised by Dr. Muthu Bagavathiannan
  • Megan Shawgo – M.S. in Plant Breeding – Non Thesis option
  • Nicholas Shepard – M.S. in Plant Breeding – Non Thesis option
  • Nicole Shigley – M.S. in Soil Science. She is advised by Dr. Peyton Smith
  • Rajan Shrestha – Ph.D. in Agronomy. He is advised by Dr. Curtis Adams and Dr. Nithya Rajan.
  • Binita Thapa – Ph.D. in Soil Science. She is advised by Dr. Jake Mowrer.
  • Braden Tondre – M.S. in Agronomy. He is advised by Dr. Steve Hague.

 

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!

Dr. Travis Miller retires after 38 years with AgriLife Extension

Written by: Kay Ledbetter

 

Travis Miller

Dr. Travis Miller

With crops in the ground 365 days a year in more than 150 counties in Texas, Dr. Travis Miller has worn through a lot of shoe leather during his 38 years with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service. Now he’s giving those shoes a break.

Miller may have carried the title of interim associate director for state operations with the AgriLife Extension most recently, but he is much better known for the 20-plus years spent as the state small grains and oilseeds specialist for the agency.

Miller joined AgriLife Extension in 1979 as an area agronomist based in Weslaco. His responsibilities included field trials and educational programming, primarily in cotton, corn, sorghum and soybeans.

“The Rio Grande Valley was a really great place to learn,” he said. “There are crops in the ground all year long. It’s like being in a candy store if you are an agronomist; you pick up on a lot of issues in multiple crops.”

But not all crops.

In 1982, when Miller moved to College Station to take the position as AgriLife Extension state specialist for small grains and oilseeds, he had never been in a wheat field.

Raised in the Corpus Christi area, he earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural mechanization from Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and master’s and doctoral degrees in soil science from Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

“But I had the basic fundamentals of agronomy, and we had some good folks around to learn from,” Miller said. “There’s nothing like shoe leather too, getting out there and being amongst it.”

And that’s what he did, attending as many as 20 field days and another 30-40 producer meetings across the state every year.

Travis Miller at field day

Dr. Travis Miller addresses a field day early in his career. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

“When I took over the job, my predecessor had largely worked in rice, and I saw there was a huge void in wheat and other winter cereals,” he said. “We had a lot of researchers and faculty working in small grains, but a much lesser AgriLife Extension effort, so I decided I needed to do something about that.”

Previously soybeans just hadn’t worked, but “we figured out how to use the early maturing, early planted soybeans effectively. And while it is still not like Iowa, people know how to grow soybeans and do it well now.”

As for wheat, one of the biggest successes was getting uniform variety trials put out at various locations across the state, Miller said. Before his organized effort, the trials were limited to county agents getting bags of seed and planting them.

“We worked on getting data we could use to help producers make decisions based on these uniform trials,” he said.

Another crisis faced during the late 1990s and early 2000s was a lot of drought. Serving with the Texas Drought Preparedness Council, Miller said he spent a lot of time trying to inform people, particularly the public – the farmers already knew it was dry, what the issues were related to drought and the water supply and how it affected them.

Miller said his goal all those years was to get out among producers to know what was important to them and to create programs that made a difference to them – anything from variety trials to fungicide and weed control to soil fertility.

Miller said recruiting and hiring some very bright, capable young scientists was a significant achievement during his time as an associate head, which he left in June 2014 to serve in his current position the last three years.

Looking forward, he said no doubt these scientists and others will have to deal with the greatest issue in agriculture – water.

“You can’t help but believe we are going to see a transition toward dryland and much more efficient cropping systems that use less water and are more tolerant to stress,” he said. “I can’t think of any more critical issue than our water supply and the careful stewardship of the supply we do have.”

Miller won’t get completely away from helping address those challenges. He said with he and his wife in reasonably good health, they are ready to do some traveling and spend some time with grandkids. But he will hold an emeritus title and still have an office on campus in the soil and crop sciences department, so he will stay connected.

2016 HEEP CENTER Annual Thanksgiving Lunch

thankgivinglunch2016-2

Soil and Crop Sciences, Entomology,
Farm Services and Crop Testing and
Texas Apiary Inspection Service
HEEP CENTER Annual
Thanksgiving Lunch
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Serving in Room 424, Heep Center
@ 11:45 a.m.
Seating in atrium areas and conference rooms.
EVERYONE IS INVITED!
Each person should bring a dish to serve eight.
(If you bring a guest, please bring a dish on their behalf,
or make one dish to serve at least 12.)
Turkey and Dressing will be provided by Soil and Crop Sciences.
Ham and Rolls will be provided by Entomology

thankgivinglunch2016-3

Dr. Frank Hons celebrated his retirement after 44-year career at Texas A&M University

hons_retirement

Nearly 100 people gathered at the Pebble Creek Country Club in College Station February 26 to celebrate the long and prosperous career of Dr. Frank Hons.

Current and former colleagues, family and friends were in attendance. Many shared stories and memories of Dr. Hons.

All but three years of Dr. Hons 44-year career were spent here at Texas A&M University, beginning in 1972 when he was a graduate research assistant working on his Master’s degree in soil chemistry.

After earning his PhD in Soil Science, Dr. Hons went to Texas Tech for three years before returning to A&M as an assistant professor in the Soil and Crop Sciences Department in 1981.  He became an Associate Professor in 1986 and a full professor in 1991.

Throughout his career, Dr. Hons taught at least one semester of Soil Fertility and Fertilizers every year, reaching more than 1,800 students. He was on the advisory committee for more than fifty graduate students, and was the major professor for forty-two who have gone on to distinguished careers.

He served as a faculty advisor to the TAMU student agronomy society and as an instructor at the NRCS designed the post –graduate curriculum for the Bi-national Fulbright Program in Egypt and was a commissioned lecturer at the Assiut University there for several years.

Dr. Hons research has had a tremendous impact. He was part of a team that developed an integrated production system to generate methane from sorghum with a potential annual benefit to producers of $1 billion. His research on carbon sequestration lead to a greater understanding of the long term effects of management practices on crop yields and soil quality, which enhanced adoption of conservation tillage practices. He led a team that developed and assisted in the implementation of a plan to revegetate the USEPA’s largest Superfund site.  His long term cropping system experiments in College Station have been in place for over 33 years and continue to provide valuable information  about yield, long term sustainability, and the interactive effects of tillage, crop rotation and nitrogen fertilization.

He has been named as a Fellow for the American Society of America and the Soil Science Society of America. In 2005 he was the recipient of a TAES Faculty Fellow award. He was named as an Outstanding Young Man of America in 1979 and went on to earn numerous other awards including the Soil and Crop Sciences Superior Achievement Award for Teaching, TAES Award in Excellence for Team Research; and the American Society of Agronomy Agronomic Resident Education Award.

His teaching and research will continue to have an impact in the world of soil science for many years to come.