A Special Experience | Science Societies

A Special Experience

February 28, 2023
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While this was my first Annual Meeting with ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, I have been part of conventions and trade shows across many different industries for decades. But as the days unfolded, I was asked some version of the same question again and again: “How does our Annual Meeting compare with other meetings with which you’ve had involvement?”

In retrospect, my answer is imbedded in the possessive pronoun in that question, “our.” There is a fierce pride that envelopes our Annual Meeting, which manifests itself in countless ways, but which I saw in the following: 

  • While many other organizations pay homage to networking and nurturing mentor/protégé relationships, our Annual Meeting embodies them. Experienced members are not just willing, but are eager to show students and early career colleagues the ropes. And scientists, students, and practitioners who spend 11 months with their heads down getting things done appear almost giddy with a few days of respite to connect with friends, old and new.
  • Initially, the breadth of the overall program seems overwhelming in its magnitude—it feels almost like looking down on Times Square on New Year’s Eve. But just as anyone who’s been to the Big Apple for New Year’s Eve will tell you, it’s a lot more organized than it appears. Our Program Planning Committee and staff design the Annual Meeting so that everyone can customize their own world‐class educational experience while still being part of the biggest party of the year.
  • Already I have heard people refer to our Annual Meeting as their “professional home.” As I roamed the exhibit floor, explored poster sessions, and looked in on just a small fraction of the educational program, what I saw was a group of people who have genuine pride in not just their own work, but in the work of their colleagues and peers.

I walked away from our Annual Meeting in Baltimore impressed and understanding why nearly 4,000 individuals from our community gather each year to attend. But, in the spirit of continuous improvement, we likewise have ideas on how we can accentuate our Annual Meeting—how we can deliver attendees more of what makes our Annual Meeting such a special experience. If you have specific ideas, send them in an email to me at jcudahy@sciencesocieties.org.

We’ll blend your ideas with the feedback we received from the 2022 Annual Meeting evaluation and anecdotal advice we received from attendees in Baltimore to fine‐tune the experience for 2023. And, we’ll then have our eyes and ears open for new ideas that will make our 2023 Annual Meeting the most dynamic experience possible for you and all who join us in St. Louis, 29 October–1 November.

—Jim Cudahy, CEO

2022 Annual Meeting Highlights

6–9 November, Baltimore, MD

Above: Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Guest of Honor
Left: Richard Harris, Opening Keynote

Guest of Honor and Opening Keynote Speakers

Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Director of the Office of Science at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), presented “Towards a Thriving, Timely, and Inclusive Science for the 21st Century: the Role of DOE Office of Science.” Dr. Berhe described how the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science supports scientific inquiry to advance our understanding of the universe and to enable the nation’s energy security, energy transformation, and prosperity.

Richard Harris, veteran National Public Radio (NPR) science correspondent, presented “Conveying the Truth in a World of Doubt.” The full room heard from him how to communicate effectively in this treacherous landscape so that scientists can help neighbors, voters, and policymakers arrive at fact‐based decisions.

Attendees were able to reconnect, share science, create collaborations, and have fun at the 2022 Annual Meeting. The Societies are proud to supply access to premier agronomic, crop, and soil science through the Limited Virtual Annual Meeting and all the sessions in Baltimore. Thank you to all who worked together to create solutions to advance science.

Here are the numbers:

3,587 attendees in Baltimore

540 technical sessions

2,887 total submissions

140 registered for Limited Virtual

73 virtual submissions

17 professional tours and workshops

The meeting provided a great opportunity for connecting with peers, learning, touring, and presenting research.

Couldn’t attend the Peer Review Workshop at the annual meeting? Apply for our Peer Review Mentorship program at www.agronomy.org/publications/journals/peer‐review‐mentorship.

Society Center

Meet the Editors

Did you get a chance to talk to an Editor at the Annual Meeting? Find out more about journal publishing at https://www.agronomy.org/publications/journals/author‐resources.

Book Raffle

Didn’t win a book at our book raffle? You can order any of them online at https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/books.

Science Policy

Attendees speak with program officers from federal funding agencies during the Federal Funding Corner event.

Coffee with the Presidents and CEO

We hope you got your caffeine and conversation during Coffee with the Presidents and CEO.

Annual Meeting abstracts and presenter‐authorized audio recordings with slides can be viewed at

acsmeetings.org/future‐past‐meetings.

SSSA Cross‐Divisional Symposium speakers for the Decode 6 session, “The Future of Carbon and Ecosystem Services Markets,” included Julie DiNatale, Lee Briese, Cristine Morgan, and Mindy Selman.

Decode 6

The Decode 6 website—a free, online education platform offering unbiased, scientific information about carbon and ecosystem services—officially went live on 7 November. To celebrate, the Decode 6 team convened a fantastic lineup of speakers for an SSSA Cross‐Divisional Symposium with more than 100 attendees and held a stellar “Carbon and Cocktails” reception and networking event.

What are you waiting for? Check it out! We’re your ASA‐CSSA‐SSSA‐supported outlet to get your research and knowledge into practice. Visit decode6.org and find ways you can share your science with practitioners and agricultural decision‐makers, or reach out directly to DJ May, Decode 6 Content & Operations Manager, at djm@decode6.org.

Photo Booth

We are so happy to see smiling faces this year at the photo stop.

Iceland Soils Tour

You might have followed Dolly around the exhibit hall—now follow her to Iceland! If you’re interested in the 2023 tour, sign up to get more information at: https://bit.ly/3uBjzTX.

Thank You to Our Sponsors and Exhibitors

We would like to extend a special thank you to our sponsors and exhibitors!

Aerodyne Research, Inc.

AGRICULEX Inc.

AgriPlex Genomics

American Peat Technology

Analytik Jena US LLC

Apogee Instruments, Inc.

Bayer Crop Science

Bio Chambers Incorporated

Biora by MineARC Systems

Burge Environmental, Inc.

CABI / CSIRO

Cambridge University Press

Campbell Scientific

CE Elantech

Cibari Biosciences LLC

CID Bio‐Science

Conviron

Crop & Soil Science– Oregon State University

Delta‐T Devices Ltd.

Dynamax, Inc.

EA Consumables, LLC

East 30 Sensors

Ecological Society of America

Eijkelkamp North America

Eiwa

Elementar Americas

Eurofins

FIAlab Instruments, Inc.

Field to Market

Gasmet Technologies Inc.

GDM Solutions, Inc.

GO Seed

HarvestMaster

Hiphen Agricultural Imaging Solutions

Irrometer Company Inc.

JBM Packaging

Kincaid Equipment Manufacturing

KUBTEC Scientific

LECO Corporation

LI‐COR Biosciences

MANTECH

METER Group, Inc. USA

MIDCO Global

Onset ‐ HOBO Data Loggers

OPS Diagnostics LLC

Picarro

PP Systems

Qubit Systems Inc.

Resonon

SEAL Analytical

Sentek USA

Soil Life

Soilmoisture Equipment Corp.

SPECTRAL EVOLUTION

Spectrum Technologies, Inc.

Springer Nature

Stevens Water Monitoring Systems

UGT GmbH

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)

VGrid Energy Systems

Voice Directed Tally Systems, Inc.

Western Ag Innovations Inc.

Wintersteiger Inc.

ZURN USA Inc.

When Science Met Art in Baltimore

The Science‐Art Program at the 2022 Annual Meeting was by many measures a resounding success. Participants came from across the three Societies and from Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, the Netherlands, Philippines, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom, the United States, and no doubt other nations. The program spanned the three‐day meeting and included painting, videography, poetry reading, tapestry, artificial intelligence‐created imagery, and a well‐attended and lively symposium.

The organizing committee, co‐led by Clay Robinson (Clay Robinson Consulting), Kirsten Kurtz (Cornell), and Jeanne Pluemer (ASA, CSSA, and SSSA), also included Irfan Ainuddin (California State–Chico), Garrett Liles (California State–Chico), Seth Murray (Texas A&M), Eli Newell (Cornell), Dan Richter (Duke), and Karen Vaughan (Wyoming). All came away from the meeting deeply impressed by the potential for science and art to interact to the benefit of both and determined to grow the tradition of science‐art programs at the Societies’ Annual Meeting. The 2022 program was entitled “Communicating Science Through Art” and was by far the most ambitious to date.

High points were the art gallery that featured paintings, photographs, sculptures, and striking Winogradsky columns. A collaborative soil painting event was held on Monday afternoon, led by Kirsten Kurtz, at which hundreds of

participants helped to paint large canvases with soil paint. Karen Vaughan led a community painting event called, “Paint with Soil Pigments,” in which hundreds of small soil pigment paintings were created, many of which were immediately displayed in the art gallery throughout the meeting. Dan Richter and his Merry Band of Virgil Readers read selections from the Georgics (David Ferry translation), the 2,000‐year‐old poem about the earth and agriculture. Clay Robinson led a poetry slam in which Society members read from their poetry. Kurtz curated a series of science‐art posters and videos from an array of artists and scientists.

The “Communicating Science Through Art” talks featured four speakers, Michael Walker (Positive Energy), Jenifer Wightman (Cornell), Kurtz, and Vaughan, and explored science and storytelling, “glorified” (and framed) Winogradsky columns, collaborative soil painting to stimulate communication and networking, and creative use of social media to communicate soil science through soil art. The talks led to many conversations, comments, and new networks.

The Science‐Art Program organizers are especially indebted to Jeanne Pluemer, the Societies’ Associate Director of Meetings, who was invaluable to the program’s success.

—Dan Richter, Professor of Soils, Duke University

Thank You Sponsors

ASA‐CSSA‐SSSA

Cornell CALS

Duke Univ.

California State Univ. Chico

Univ. of Minnesota‐CFANS

The Art of Soil

Zoils suelos y arte

Soil Painting Initiative

The 2022 Students of Agronomy, Soils, and Environmental Sciences (SASES) undergraduate student program presented a full slate of programs during the Annual Meeting. In addition to the contests, students kicked off their meeting experience with SASES tours throughout Maryland and Washington, DC. In addition to the many contests listed below, events included a social, opening brunch featuring keynote speaker Drew Dudley, elections, Hot Topics session (Microplastics, Carbon Markets, Nitrogen Management, and Tech in Agriculture), CCA/CPSS Career Accelerator, Grad School Workshop, Networking with the Past Presidents, Career Fair with mini‐sessions, and a special Awards Ceremony Cruise to recognize the student contest winners!

Congratulations to all contest winners (both individual students and clubs)!

Quiz Bowl | Sponsored by Syngenta

The Ohio State Univ. (Cori Lee, Ethan Cockerill,

Ashley Bergman, and Mariah Lashley)

President’s Trophy

1st Place: West Texas A&M Univ.

2nd Place: Purdue Agronomy Club

3rd Place: Kansas State Univ.

National Club Poster Contest

1st Place: West Texas A&M Univ. 2nd Place: Oklahoma State Univ.

3rd Place: Univ. of Wisconsin–Platteville

Undergraduate Student Research Poster Competition Results

AGRONOMY

1st Place: Ava Stallmann, Univ. of Wisconsin–River Falls

CROP SCIENCE

1st Place: Douglas Vines, Univ. of Georgia–Athens

COVER CROPS

1st Place: MaryBeth Gavin, Pennsylvania State Univ.

FERTILIZER

1st Place: Monique Michaud, Univ. of Connecticut

Undergraduate Student Internship Poster Contest

Sponsored by the ASA Advancing Agronomy via Public‐Private Partnerships Community

1st Place: Megan Culpitt, Univ. of Wisconsin–River Falls

2nd Place: Omar Abulghanam, California State Univ.–Fresno

3rd Place: Allison Smith, Iowa State Univ.

SASES Undergraduate Research Oral Contest Results

Session 1: 1st Place: Christopher Barron, Texas A&M Univ. 2nd Place: Serge Andre Abit, Oklahoma State Univ.

3rd Place: Amanda Blazek, Univ. of Tennessee–Knoxville

Session 2: 1st Place: Georgia Eastham, Oklahoma State Univ. 2nd Place: Samuel Walker, Penn State Univ.

3rd Place: Sydney Logwood, Univ. of Tennessee

Speech Contest

1st Place: Duncan McSorley, North Carolina State Univ. 2nd Place: Alivia Lantz, Western Illinois Univ. 3rd Place: Emily Harker, Purdue Univ. 4th Place: Natalie Evans, Texas A&M Univ. 5th Place: Brady Fricks, Auburn Univ. 6th Place: Madison Thomas, Illinois State Univ.

Pedology Contest

1st Place: Clare Tallamy, Virginia Tech

2nd Place: Abby Field, Univ. of Wisconsin–Platteville

3rd Place: Emily Gilbertson, Univ. of Wisconsin–Stevens Point

Crops Judging Contest

Individuals 1st Place: Dustin Steinkamp, Western Illinois Univ. 2nd Place: Chenxin Luo, Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison 3rd Place: Caleb McCall, West Texas A&M Univ.

4th Place: Anna Marie Hintz, Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison

5th Place: Cori Lee, The Ohio State Univ.

6th Place: Jake Roden, Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison

Team

Badger Crops Club Team 1, Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison (Chenxin Luo, Mackenzie Hintz, AnnaMarie Hintz, and Tressa Peskar)

Visual Presentation Contest

1st Place: Mary Mulligan, Clemson Univ.

2nd Place: Mary‐Margaret Benware, Southern Illinois Univ.–Edwardsville

3rd Place: Jace Heiman, Univ. of Wisconsin–River Falls

Darrel S. Metcalf Journalism Contest

1st Place: Micaela Rose Murphy, Texas A&M Univ. 

2nd Place: Alejandra Gabriela Cardenas, California State Univ.–Fresno

DEI Events in Baltimore

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) events happened throughout the meeting, including the DEI Summit featuring keynote speaker Dr. Zelia Wiley of Kansas State University, a “fan‐favorite: poster contest,” and roundtable discussions. The Diversity Student Poster Contest featured 15 finalists (from 82 preliminary contestants), a new Diversity Research Poster Contest, and a Society and Diversity Showcase where attendees gathered to learn about the many DEI‐focused initiatives of the Societies. The Women in Science Committee sponsored two Bystander Intervention trainings. All events were made possible by sponsorship from the Agronomic Science Foundation. Congratulations poster contest winners!

Diversity Student Poster Contest

1st Place: Lovepreet Singh, Mississippi State Univ. 2nd Place: Gurleen Kaur, Univ. of Florida 3rd Place: Oluwatola Adedeji, Texas Tech Univ.

Fan Favorite

1st Place: Leidy Fernandez Montiel, Univ. of Puerto Rico–Mayaguez

Diversity Research Poster Contest

1st Place: Jennifer Lachowiec, Montana State Univ.

2nd Place: Candice Duncan, Univ. of Maryland

3rd Place: Christopher Ryan, CUNY–City Univ. of New York

Society‐Wide Graduate Student Competitions

The 2022 SSSA and CSSA Society‐Wide Graduate Student Competitions were an opportunity to highlight and showcase the top students from our CSSA and SSSA divisions! These unique competitions feature the top student winner from each division’s traditional contest. They advanced to the society‐wide competition where they competed in a poster session and five‐minute rapid oral session. To provide greater visibility, participation, and recognition, the competitions were held virtually via Zoom the week after the Annual Meeting, and all students were recognized and the winners announced via a Facebook livestream.

There were significant prizes—each Society provided: 

1st Place: $1,000 plus a 2023 registration to the St. Louis Annual Meeting (value of $300)

2nd Place: $750

3rd Place: $500

CSSA Society‐Wide Student Competition

Wanderson Novais
Valentian Pereyra Picabea
Caleb Henderson

1st Place: Wanderson Novais, The Ohio State Univ. (Crop Ecology, Management & Quality Division), “Elucidating How N Management Practices and Excess Water Conditions Affect Corn N Uptake and Grain Yield”

2nd Place: Valentina Pereyra Picabea (Crop Physiology and Metabolism Division), “Soybean Yield and Protein: Case Study of a Modern and Old Variety at Varying Row Spacings”

3rd Place: Caleb Henderson, Virginia Tech (Turfgrass Science Division), “Strategies for Precision Management of Spring Dead Spot Across Whole Golf Course Fairways”

Finalists 

  • Gurleen Kaur, Univ. of Florida (Crop Breeding & Genetics Division)
  • Luana Dantas Queiroz, Univ. of Florida (Forage & Grazinglands Division)
  • Jagdeep Singh Sidhu, Penn State (Plant Genetic Resources Division)
  • Gurpal Singh, Univ. of Massachusetts–Amherst (Genomics, Molecular Genetics, and Biotechnology Division)
  • Tina Sullivan, Utah State Univ. (Crops for Nutrition & Health Division)
  • Nathaniel Turner, Texas Tech Univ. (Seed Physiology, Production, & Technology Division)

Thank You to the Judges 

  • Vara Prasad, Kansas State Univ. and CSSA Past President
  • Chrissie Segars, Texas A&M Univ. and CSSA Early Career Committee Chair
  • Giovanni Piccinni, Bayer Crop Science and Corporate Member Board Representative
  • Bingru Huang, Rutgers Univ. and CSSA Editor‐in‐Chief
  • Jodi Scheffler, USDA‐ARS and 2022 CSSA Fellow Recipient

Organizing Committee

Paige Boyle (Chair), Utah State Univ.

R. Scott Tubbs, Univ. of Georgia–Tifton

Rachel Veenstra, Kansas State Univ.

Congratulations to all contest winners!

SSSA Society‐Wide Student Competition

Cam Anderson
Paramveer Singh
Bright Ofori

1st Place: Cam Anderson, University of Maryland–Amherst (Soil Chemistry Division), “Hydrological Extremes Shift Controls and Pathways of Carbon Loss from Floodplain Soils”

2nd Place: Paramveer Singh, New Mexico State University (Soil and Water Conservation and Management Division), “Production Systems Better Protected Under Innovative Circular Grass Buffer Strips”

3rd Place: Bright Ofori, Virginia Tech (Nutrient Management and Soil and Plant Analysis Division), “Can Cover Crops Residue Reduce

 Nitrogen Fertilization in Cotton?”

Finalists 

  • Carlos Bonini Pires, Kansas State Univ. (Soil Education & Outreach)
  • Keren Brooks, Virginia Tech (Soil Fertility & Plant Nutrition)
  • Chantel Chizen, Univ. of Saskatchewan (Wetland Soils)
  • Alexis Martin, Univ. of Georgia (Urban & Anthropogenic Soils)
  • Chihiro Naruke, Utah State Univ. (Soil Physics & Hydrology)
  • Pratima Poudel, Clemson Univ. (Soil Mineralogy)
  • Ravi Kumar Neelipally, Univ. of Tennessee–Knoxville (Soil Biology & Biochemistry)
  • Tamjid Us Sakib, Kansas State Univ. (Soils & Environmental Quality)
  • Stephanie Winters, Oregon State Univ. (Forest, Range, and Wildland Soils Division)

Thank You to the Judges 

  • April Ulery, New Mexico State Univ. and SSSA Past President
  • Tiffany Carter, USDA‐NRCS and Early Career Committee Member and DEI Committee Vice Chair
  • Steve Harrold, Servi Tech, Inc. and Certified Professional Soil Scientist
  • Douglas Smith, USDA‐ARS and the Journal of Environmental Quality Editor
  • Mervin St. Luce, Agriculture & Agri‐Food Canada and Soil Science Outstanding Dissertation Award Committee Chair
  • Ekrem Ozlu, North Carolina State Univ. and SSSA Early Career Committee Representative

Organizing Committee

Sarah Shawver (Chair), Virginia Tech and 2019

Competition Winner

Xia Zhu‐Barker, Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison

Patrick Drohan, Penn State Univ.

Congratulations to all contest winners!

Scenes from the Annual Meeting

1: Members of the ACSESS Board and staff participated in a hands‐on volunteer activity at Glenwood Life Recovery Garden with the University of Maryland Extension–Urban Agriculture program on Saturday, 5 November.

2: The coloring tables at the Society Center were a popular place between sessions. Students from Columbia Basin College are pictured (l to r): Melissa Manzo Parra, Araceli Martinez (Bridge Scholar), and Selina Oronia.

3: The Agronomic Science Foundation (ASF) hosted a reception on Sunday, 6 November, for donors, leaders, and guests, including the recipients of dozens of ASF‐funded scholarships, awards, travel grants, lectureships, and other programs. To learn more about ASF, visit www.a‐s‐f.org. Pictured are Heidi Peterson (ASF Board) and Josh McGrath. 4‐5: “A Taste of Baltimore” closing reception featuring the Baltimore “Hons” and crab cracking. 6: Pedology Tour.

7: Annual Meeting abstracts and presenter‐authorized audio recordings with slides can be viewed at acsmeetings.org/future‐past‐meetings.

Join us at the 2023 Annual Meeting

St. Louis, MO | 29 Oct.‐‐1 Nov. 2023

Text © . The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Except where otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission from the copyright owner is prohibited.

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