Crop Sciences Newsletter #110, May 6, 2005

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

...The Department of Crop Sciences was well represented by award winners at the annual College of ACES Awards Banquet. Fernando Miguez received the 2005 Louis V. Logeman Graduate Student Teaching Award. Donald Ort was the 2005 Service Recognition Award winner. Mohammad Babadoost received the 2005 Faculty Award for Excellence in Extension. Rick Weinzierl was the 2005 Senior Faculty Award for Excellence in Extension winner. Mike Vose, from the Orr Research Center, received the 2005 Staff Award for Excellence. Ralph Esgar won the 2005 Professional Staff Award for Excellence - Sustained Excellence - Research. Germán Bollero received the 2005 John Clyde and Henrietta Downey Spitler Teaching Award. Bruce Paulsrud is a member of the Pesticide Safety Education Program which won the 2005 College of ACES Team Award for Excellence. Congratulations to all!!

...Congratulations to Fernando Miguez, who received the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture Graduate Teaching Award. It will be presented during the annual NACTA conference in June.

...Congratulations to Ines Daverede, who received a 2005 J. Fielding Reed Potash and Phosphate Institute Fellowship award.

...The winners of the Crop Sciences Departmental Awards were announced at the Spring Ice Cream Social last week. The deserving winners are: Anna Tammen--Staff Award for Clerical Excellence; Troy Cary and Ralph Esgar--Academic Professional Award for Excellence; and, Mark Muellner--Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award. Congratulations to all!!

...Congratulations to Gustavo Caetano-Anolles, who received $10,000 from the National Science Foundation for his project “Evolution of RNA Structure - Research Experience for Teachers (RET)”; Bob Dunker received $49,000 from the Office of Surface Mining for his project “A System to Evaluate Prairie Farmland Reclamation Success Based on Spatial Soil Properties”; Mike Gray, who received $28,947 for the North Central IPM Program; Susan Ratcliffe, $35,000 for the Soybean Rust National Training and Management Program. The USDA/ARS awarded Brian Diers $28,750 and Ted Hymowitz $35,960 for their project “Germplasm Evaluation and Breeding Using Adapted, Exotic and Novel Sources to Develop Soybean Rust Resistance”.

...Congratulations to all our graduate students who have completed their degrees. Those completing their masters degrees are: Marisol Benitez working with Don Bullock; Devin Nichols, who worked with Brian Diers and will continue on for a doctoral degree in another department; Jared Schroeder, who worked with Pat Tranel and is getting married in June; Narasimham Upadyayula who worked with Torbert Rocheford and will now pursue a doctoral degree with him; and, Nathan Wentworth, who completed his masters degree working with Kevin Steffey and will farming with his father near Decatur. B.J. (William) Patzoldt and Federico Trucco completed their doctoral degrees working with Pat Tranel. Federico will now work in Pat’s lab as a postdoctoral research associate until September and B.J. is looking for employment.

...The 2005-2006 Crop Sciences Graduate Organization officers have been elected. They are: President: Emily Heaton, Vice-President: Fernando Miguez, Treasurer: Jeffrey Coulter, Secretary: Robyn Allscheid, Social Chair: Josie Hugie, Fund raising: Sofia Da Silva. Their mandate will start on May 15th. Congratulations!

...The 3^rd Annual Donors Appreciation Luncheon to celebrate excellence and achievement was held on April 8, 2005. The undergraduate scholarship recipients were: Robyn Allscheid, Anna Bishop, Heather Clodfelter, Brian Fisher, Kent Leesman, Stephanie Rousonelos, Shaun Schmidt, Nathan Schnettgoecke, David Shore and Jared Walter-- Eugene C. Hoerner Scholarship; Matt Murray-- Daniel E. and Joan Pfister Scholarship; Lisa Haney and Regan Joehl--Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company Scholarship; Heather Clodfelter--Ted Peck Memorial Award; Brian Fisher and Kyle McClelland--Dr. & Mrs. M. E. Ensminger Scholarship; Robyn Allscheid and Elizabeth Robb- -Robert W. Howell Memorial Scholarship; David Shore--Illinois Seed Trade Association-Alvin L. Lang Scholarship; Andrew Bowman, Nathan Karplus and Allison Luzader--Dr. Malcolm H. McVickar Award in Agronomy; and, Dan Lamoreus and Nathan Schnettgoecke--Illinois Forage and Grassland Council-Darrell A. Miller Scholarship. Kyle McClelland won the American Society of Agronomy Outstanding Student Recognition Award and the Robert B. Troutman Student Leadership award. Lisa Haney and Heather Clodfelter received Department of Crop Sciences Undergraduate Research Awards.

The graduate students honored at the luncheon included: Narasimham Upadyayula--William B. and Nancy L. Ambrose Fellowship; Austeclinio Farias Neto--Richard L. Bernard Soybean Improvement Award; Ines Daverede--Brockson Graduate Fellowship; Devin Nichols--W. L. Burlison Memorial Award; Yan Li--Fred Clute Memorial Award; Eunsoo Choe and Phil Michener--Crow’s Hybrid Corn Company Graduate Scholarship; Craig Kleinschmidt and Jonathan Nordby--Darwin Traditional Corn Breeding Fellowship by A. Forrest Troyer; Anne Marie Boone and Jigyasa Tuteja-- Adlai Ewing Endowed Chair Graduate Fellowship; Joshua “Ian” Meyer--J. C. Hackleman Illinois Crop Improvement Association Graduate Fellowship; Ignacio Colonna-Richard H. & Elizabeth C. Hageman Endowed Graduate Research Fellowship; Fernando Miguez--Floyd S. Ingersoll Graduate Research Fellowship; Jeff Coulter-- Kraft/Frerichs Graduate Fellowship; Matthew Clover--A. L. Lang and S. R. Aldrich Fellowship Award; Amy Wilson--Pioneer Hi-Brdd International, Inc. Plant Breeding Graduate Fellowship; Mark Rundell--M. B. Russell Memorial Award; Kevin Kelley--Fred Slife Graduate Fellowship; Elizabeth Bucher, Sarah Jones, Devin Nichols and Evan Wright--Jonathan Baldwin Turner Graduate Fellowships; Nicholas Martin and Tatiana Tatum--University of Illinois Fellowships; Mark Rundell--National Institute of Health Predoctoral Toxicology Fellowship; Joy Jamago--Fulbright Fellowship; Jeff Church, Matthew Hunt and Elizabeth Wrage--Agricultural Genome Sciences and Public Policy Fellowship; Matias Ruffo--Agronomy Society of America Harry J. Larsen/Yara Memorial Scholarship; Austeclinio Farias Neto--CAPES Fellowship; William J. Patzoldt--Weed Science Society of America Graduate Student Award; Jeff Coulter--North Central Extension/Industry Soil Fertility Award.

...Congratulations to Kevin Steffey, who received the Wyffels Hybrids Award for Faculty Excellence. The award is made to a Crop Sciences faculty member to recognize creative, sustained, comprehensive, and effective academic performance. The award is intended to recognize and celebrate faculty excellence in two or more of the following areas of faculty responsibility: teaching and advising; research; extension and outreach; and public service.

...Our undergraduates competed in the NACTA contest. The team consisted of Regan Joehl, Phil Parrish, Tyler Strum, Ryan Shelby and Andrew Bowman (unscored). The team placed 4^th overall, with 3^rd place in both the Agronomic Quiz and the Lab Practical. Individual awards were won by Regan Joehl who placed 5^th overall and 3^rd in both the Agronomic Quiz and the Lab Practical. Congratulations!

...The Field & Furrow Club announced the following award winners: Speech Contest, 1^st Andrew Bowman, 2^nd Mike Meyer, 3^rd T J Ruyle; Crops/IPM Contest, 1^st Mike Meyer, 2^nd Regan Joehl/Andrew Bowman, 3^rd Jared Walter. Service Award winners were Yale Epler, Kate Legge and Regan Joehl; Outstanding New Members were Nathan Karplus, Sean Breen and Mike Meyer; Outstanding Seniors were: Nathan Schnettgoecke and Dan Lamoreux; and, Outstainding Junior was TJ Ruyle. The Outstanding Faculty/Staff winner was Ben Tracy.

...Department of Crop Sciences Senior Essay Contest winners were: 1^st Stefan Gailans, 2^nd Amy Troyer, 3^rd Josh Green, 4^th Nathan Schnettgoecke.

...The College of ACES named the Field and Furrow Club the Best Undergraduate Club in ACES. Good Job!!

..Heather Clodfelter and David Shore have been named James Scholars. David is also a Chancellors Scholar. Congratulations!

DATES TO REMEMBER

May 15, ACES Undergraduate Convocation, 9:30 a.m. ACES Graduate Convocation, 10:00 a.m. UI Commencement, 2:00 p.m.

June 9, Ewing Field Day

June 22, Urbana Weeds Field Day

July 7, DeKalb Weeds Field Day

July 13, Belleville Field Day

July 28, Brownstown Field Day

Aug. 2, DeKalb Field Day

Aug. 4, Dixon Springs Field Day

Aug. 16, Monmouth Field Day

Aug. 18, Agronomy Day, Urbana

Aug. 23, Orr Center Field Day

Sept. 8, Ewing Field Day

Sept. 19 & 20, Department of Crop Sciences Retreat at Allerton Conference Center