News Release

MADISON, WI, September 9, 2010 – The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) will present the following 2010 Awards during their Annual Meetings on Oct. 31-Nov. 3 in Long Beach, CA, www.acsmeetings.org. 

• Kirk Scheckel – Marion L. and Chrystie M. Jackson Soil Science Award. Kirk Scheckel is a research soil scientist in the National Risk Management Research Laboratory of the U.S. EPA. He is an adjunct faculty member at the Ohio State University. Dr. Scheckel received a B.S. from Iowa State University and Ph.D. from the University of Delaware. His research focuses on element speciation in soils, sediments, and water to elucidate reaction mechanisms that influence fate in the natural environment. He served as associate editor for the Journal of Environmental Quality and Chair of S-11. He is active in SSSA, and the American Chemical Society.

• James Jones, University of Florida -- L.R. Ahuja Ag Systems Modeling Award. James Jones is a Distinguished Professor in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Florida. He received a B.S. from Texas Tech University, M.S. from Mississippi State University, and Ph.D. from North Carolina State University. His program focuses on modeling cropping systems and applying them to optimize crop management under varying and changing climates. He has taught short courses on crop models to over 1000 scientists in more than 30 countries since the late 1980s. He is a Fellow of both ASA and SSSA.

• Andrew Hinnell, University of Arizona -- Emil Truog Soil Science Award. Andrew Hinnell is a research associate and soil physicist in the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona. Dr. Hinnell received B.S. from the University of Waterloo, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Arizona. His research focuses on characterizing unsaturated flow processes with indirect meso-scale measurements (e.g. geophysical methods) using coupled physical process and instrument models and inverse methods to identify data required to estimate model parameters at a desired certainty.

• Gerard Kluitenberg, Kansas State University -- Don & Betty Kirkham Soil Physics Award. Gerard Kluitenberg is a professor of soil and environmental physics in the Department of Agronomy at Kansas State University. He received a B.S. and M.S. from the University of California, Davis, and Ph.D. from Iowa State University. His primary research focus is the development of thermal sensors for measuring soil physical properties and quantifying water flow in soils. Dr. Kluitenberg served as Chair of Division S-1 and as associate editor for the Soil Science Society of America Journal. He is a Fellow of SSSA and ASA. The Don and Betty Kirkham Soil Physics Award recognizes mid-career soil scientists who have made outstanding contributions in the area of soil physics. The award is supported by the Lena and Maria Van der Ploeg Fund and the Don and Betty Kirkham Fund, both of the Agronomic Science Foundation.

• Jianming Yu, Kansas State University – ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Early Career Professional Award. Jianming Yu is an associate professor in the Agronomy Department at Kansas State University. Dr. Yu received a B.S. from Northwestern Agricultural University, M.S. from Kansas State University, and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. His program focuses on developing novel methods of utilizing cutting-edge genetic and genomic tools for complex trait dissection and plant breeding. Yu served an associate editor for Crop Science, and Theoretical and Applied Genetics. The Early Career Professional Award recognizes early career members who have made an outstanding contribution in agronomy, crop science, and/or soil science within seven years of completing their final degree.

• Sam Feagley - Irrometer Professional Certification Service Award. Sam Feagley is the state soil environmental specialist and professor in the Soil and Crop Sciences Department at Texas AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. He received a B.S. and M.S. from Texas A&M University and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in Columbia. His program focuses on nutrient management, with an emphasis on phosphorus, of organic and inorganic sources of nutrients, land remediation of saline and/or sodic soils, land application of oil/gas drilling fluids and muds, and land reclamation of drastically altered lands. Dr. Feagley has served on the Council of Soil Science Examiners, associate editor for Agronomy Journal, coordinator of the Texas Nutrient Management Certification Short Course and Texas Nutrient Management Specialists, and has been active in ASA, SSSA, and the International Union of Soil Sciences.

• Soil Science Distinguished Service Award. The Soil Science Distinguished Service Award is presented in recognition of outstanding service to soil science. Selection is based on the nominee’s contributions during his or her career. Members eligible for the award must have 25 years or more of active membership in the Society and have ceased full-time professional employment. The 2010 Soil Science Distinguished Service Award recipients are:

• Lajpat R. Ahuja, USDA-ARS, Fort Collins, CO. – Soil Science Research Award. Lajpat R. Ahuja is soil scientist and research leader of the ARS, Ag. Systems Research, Fort Collins, CO. He received a B.S. and M.S. from India, and Ph.D. from the Univ. of California-Davis. His unique contributions are in modeling: infiltration, chemical transfer to runoff & macropores, scaling across soil types, management effects on soil, and agricultural systems. He served as associate editor, technical editor, & book review editor for the Soil Science Society of America Journal, is Fellow of SSSA & ASA, and received Don and Betty Kirkham Soil Physics & Environmental Quality Research Awards.

• Jeffory Hattey, Oklahoma State University -- Soil Science Education Award. Jeff Hattey is a professor of soil science and the Hodges Professor of International Agriculture in Plant and Soil Sciences at Oklahoma State Univ. He received a B.S. from the University of Central Missouri and M.S. and PhD. from the University of Arkansas. As a soil science educator with expertise in outcomes assessment, he has served as chair for division A-1 and the Council of Soil Science Examiners. He also serves as Southern Director for North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture. His research program is focused on animal waste management.

• Lee Sommers – Soil Science Professional Service Award. Lee Sommers is Associate Dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Colorado State University. He received a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and M.S. and Ph.D. in soil science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Responsibilities include leadership and oversight for agricultural research programs in 15 academic departments and at 8 off-campus research centers. He has served as President of SSSA and ASA, Chair of ASF, and co-chair of 2006 Soils World Congress.

• Steve Evett, USDA-ARS, Bushland, TX. -- Soil Science Applied Research Award. Steve Evett is a research soil scientist with the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, Texas. He serves as the ARS research coordinator for the Middle East Regional Irrigation Management Information Systems (MERIMIS) Project, which has research and extension partners in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority; and he works with other researchers at the IAEA and in China, Egypt, and Uzbekistan. His research focus is to improve irrigation management and water content sensing.

• Jagdish K. Ladha, International Rice Research Institute -- International Soil Science Award.Jagdish K. Ladha is a principal soil scientist at the International Rice Research Institute. He also serves as the coordinator of the Rice-Wheat Consortium and is an adjunct associate in the Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Ladha received a Ph.D. from Banaras University. Ladha’s research program focuses on soil science and agronomy through research, training, and extension activities in many countries and geographical regions of the world, especially in Southeast Asia. He is the regional editor of Biology and Fertility of Soils, and sits on the editorial board of Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (Netherlands) and the International Journal of Agronomy.

• Julie DeMeester -- Congressional Science Fellowship.ASA, CSSA, and SSSA 2009-20010 Congressional Science Fellow. Fellow Julie DeMeester works for Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), with a focus on climate change, environment, and agriculture. Dr. DeMeester received a B.S. in integrated science and technology from James Madison University in 2001. She then went on to receive a Ph.D. in environmental science at Duke University in 2003, where she investigated wetlands, invasives, and nitrogen cycling. DeMeester now aspires to convey science to non-technical audiences, becoming an effective intermediary between scientists, policy-makers and the public on environmental issues.