In memoriam
Lawrence Copeland
Dr. Lawrence O. Copeland, ASA and CSSA Fellow and Former Seed Science and Technology Professor at Michigan State University, passed away on 31 Dec. 2021 at the age of 85. He completed his M.S. and Ph.D. at Oregon State University; later, he accepted a position as faculty member at Michigan State University (MSU).
At MSU, he has compiled an extraordinary academic record of world stature. He launched an ambitious research program focusing on seed production and seed quality evaluation. His work led to enhanced and improved seed production of many crops in Michigan. He served as editor of the Journal of Seed Technology for about six years. He trained many graduate students, particularly from international countries.
Copeland’s greatest legacy and international impact in seed biology has been his authorship of central textbooks in seed biology. In 1976, he wrote the Principles of Seed Science and Technology. This was the first general textbook in seed technology that captured every aspect of the discipline and is considered THE textbook in introductory seed biology. The book is currently in its fourth edition and has been used worldwide with translations in Chinese and Korean. In 2008, Copeland, in conjunction with Doris Baxter, published the text Seed Purity and Taxonomy, which is a great reference for all seed technologists worldwide. In 2012, he, along with Drs. McDonald, Elias, and Baalbaki, published Seed Testing: Principles and Practices, one of the leading books in this area worldwide.
Copeland has established a sustained, outstanding, and innovative career of research excellence, graduate student mentoring, authorship of central texts in seed biology, and distinguished service to the seed industry and related organizations. His service is recognized and valued worldwide and had critical impacts to understanding and enhancing the production of quality seeds. His texts remain required reading in seed science and technology courses in many universities around the world. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and the entire seed science world.
John Reuss
Dr. John O. Reuss, 94, Professor Emeritus at Colorado State University, passed away 16 Dec. 2021, after a long fight with Parkinson’s disease. He was born 10 Oct. 1927 in Great Falls, MT. He graduated from Montana State College (now Montana State University, MSU) in 1949 with a degree in Soil Science and later earned an M.S. from MSU and a Ph.D. in Soil Chemistry from Utah State University.
In 1950 Reuss married M. Evelyn Nicholson of Fort Peck, MT. After Evelyn’s untimely death, he married Winifred “Fritzi” Borer Whitney of Forsyth, MT. He also changed careers, starting as a research technician at an agricultural field station near Huntley, MT and then joining the faculty at Montana State in 1957. He joined the faculty at Colorado State University (CSU) in 1961 and was appointed Full Professor in 1974 and Emeritus Professor upon his retirement in 1988. He was a 62-year member of ASA and SSSA.
Besides teaching graduate courses and mentoring graduate students, Reuss carried on research programs. Over the years, he had varied research interests including the identification of magnesium deficiencies in plants on acid coastal plain sands while serving with the CSU Nigeria project, optimizing cropping patterns and water course lining methods in Pakistan, and investigating the uptake of cadmium from phosphatic fertilizers in the western USA. Reuss was one of the leaders in the investigations leading to the widespread adoption of nitrate soil tests. He also participated in development of simulation models for nitrogen cycling in grasslands. He was widely recognized as one of the foremost experts on the effects of acidic precipitation on lake and stream acidification. His model has served as the basis for a number of models developed both here and abroad.
He is survived by three children, two stepchildren, 12 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. He was proceeded in death by his brother, sister, stepson, and wife.
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