News Release

• Drew Lyon, University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Agronomic Extension Education Award. Drew Lyon is the Fenster Professor of dryland agriculture and extension dryland cropping systems specialist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff. He received a B.S. in agriculture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research and extension responsibilities include the investigation and development of resource efficient cropping systems for dryland crops that emphasize water management, weed control, and soil conservation. Dr. Lyon is currently serving as the Presiding Chair of the ASA Education and Extension Section.

• Sridhar Komarneni, Pennsylvania State University –Environmental Quality Research Award. Sridhar Komarneni is a Distinguished Professor of Clay Mineralogy in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University. He received his B.S. from A. P. Agricultural University, Bapatla, India, M.S. from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His program focuses on clays, zeolites and other porous materials for treatment of hazardous cations and anions in soils and water. Dr. Komarneni serves as the editor-in-chief of Journal of Porous Materials.

• Gary W. Fick, Cornell University - Agronomic Resident Education Award. Gary W. Fick is a professor of agronomy in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Cornell University, where he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in forage crops, sustainable agriculture, and methods of research. He has degrees from the University of Nebraska, Massey University in New Zealand, and the University of California at Davis. He has received teaching awards from the Chancellor of the State University of New York and the Northeast Branch of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA.  He is a Fellow of ASA and CSSA. 

• Ken Moore, Iowa State University - Agronomic Service Award. Ken Moore is Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. He received a B.S. degree from Arizona State University and M.S. and Ph.D. in agronomy from Purdue University. His research focuses on the development and improvement of biomass crops and cropping systems. Dr. Moore served as President of the CSSA and ASA, on the editorial boards of Agronomy Journal and Crop Science, and was the founding editor of the Crop Management. He is a Fellow of ASA, CSSA, and AAAS.

• Carl Nachreiner, Landmark Services Cooperative - International Certified Crop Adviser of the Year Award. Carl Nachreiner is the Agronomy Territory Account Manager with Landmark Services Cooperative, Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. Carl received his B.S. degree in agricultural education from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. He has 31 years of crop advising experience and was in the first class of Wisconsin Certified Crop Advisers. His primary job responsibilities are to advise farmers in crop production, soil fertility, pest management, farm nutrient management, and conservation planning. He also assists his clients with chemical, fertility, seed and pest management decisions. He has served on the Wisconsin Nutrient & Pest Management Advisory Board, WEEDsoft Advisory Committee, Wisconsin Fertilizer Research Board, Wisconsin Certified Crop Advisers Board, and is currently on the Wisconsin Agrichemical Technical Advisory Committee.

• Chad Godsey, Oklahoma State University - Early Career Professional Award. Chad Godsey is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Oklahoma State University. He received a B.S. in Agricultural Business and Plant and Soil Science from Colorado State University, a M.S. and Ph.D. in Agronomy from Kansas State University. Dr. Godsey’s extension and research efforts are focused on oilseed cropping systems with an emphasis in tillage and crop rotation. He serves as an AE for Agronomy Journal and Peanut Science. He is active in ASA-CSA-SSSA and the American Peanut Research and Education Society.

• Jagdish K. Ladha, International Rice Research Institute - International Service in Agronomy Award. J.K. Ladha is a principal soil scientist at the International Rice Research Institute. He is also an adjunct associate in the Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of California, Davis. Dr Ladha received his Ph.D. degree 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 South 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. 

• Min Zhang, Shangdong Agricultural University - Kingenta Agricultural Science Award. Min Zhang is a professor in the College of Resources and Environment at Shandong Agricultural University. Dr. Zhang received his B.S. degrees from Shandong Agricultural University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His program focuses mainly on the development of new fertilizer technology. Dr. Zhang served as a member of National Fertilizer and Soil Amendment Standardization Technical Committee, and has been active in the Soil Science Society of China, Agronomy Society of China.

• Daniel Sweeney, Kansas State University - Werner L. Nelson Award for Diagnosis of Yield-Limiting Factors. Dan Sweeney is a professor at the Kansas State University Southeast Agricultural Research Center.  He received his M.S. degree from Purdue University and Ph.D. from the University of Florida.  His research addresses soil fertility and management for row crops and forages grown on claypan soils.  Dr. Sweeney has served on the editorial boards of JPA and Agronomy Journal, is currently the editor of Crop Management and serving a second term as the S-4 (soil fertility and plant nutrition) SSSA Board Rep, and is a Fellow of ASA and SSSA.

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