2026 award recipients and Fellows | Science Societies

2026 award recipients and Fellows

August 3, 2026
2026 award recipients and Fellows

ASA, CSSA, and SSSA congratulate the 2026 award recipients and Fellows. These individuals are being recognized at ceremonies held during CANVAS 2026 in Portland, OR from Nov. 1–4, 2026. Read more about each recipient and see their photos in the Society Awards Gallery.

Academic Undergraduate Scholarship

Lily Chen, University of Georgia

Amelia Meng, Kansas State University

 

Golden Opportunity Scholars

Gage Anderson, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Jakaila Burrell, Bakersfield College

Aaliyah Carlisle, Purdue University

Caelan Church, Kansas State University

Chloe Hall, The Ohio State University

Victoria Hassell, University of Tennessee at Martin

Adam Hosszu, South Dakota State University

Kathryn Kottman, University of Missouri

Yuriy Krugov, Michigan State University

Belia Leyva, California State University–Fresno

Amelia Meng, Kansas State University

Miriam Millet, Brigham Young University Idaho

Nicholas Runnels, Alcorn State University

Sarah Siegle, North Carolina State University

Raena Stierwalt, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Nicholas Tasca, Oregon State University

Daniela Thompson, California State University–Fresno

Emerging Leader for African Agricultural Transformation Award, sponsored by OCP North America

Dr. Atanda Oladejo, Ile - Ife, NIGERIA

Visionary Scientist for African Agriculture Award, sponsored by OCP North America

Dr. Zach Stewart, International Fertilizer Development Center

Mentoring Award 

Dr. Anna Paltseva, Purdue University

American Society of Agronomy awards

Frank D. Keim Graduate Fellowship

Anna Phillips, Purdue University Agronomy Club

J. Fielding Reed Undergraduate Soil and Plant Sciences Scholarship 

Greta Hall, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Greenfield Scholars

Justin Bedel, Purdue University

Brandon Boyd, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Benton Kerr, Kansas State University

Sydney Schilling, Iowa State University

Raena Stierwalt, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

ASA Fellows

Dr. Muthukumar Bagavathiannan, Texas A&M University

Prof. Nirit Bernstein, Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research

Dr. Sabine Grunwald, University of Florida

Prof. Suat Irmak, Penn State University

Dr. Shuyu Liu, Texas A&M University–College Station

Prof. Zhiming Qi, McGill University

Dr. William Rooney, Texas A&M University

Dr. Maria Silveira, Noble Research Institute

Dr. Calvin Trostle, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Dr. Joann Whalen, McGill University

ASA Presidential Award

Dr. David Baltensperger, Texas A&M University

Agronomic Education and Extension Award 

Dr. Romulo Lollato, Kansas State University

Agronomic Industry Award 

Dr. Gregory Willoughby, Helena Agri Enterprises

ASA Distinguished Service Award 

Dr. Sharon Clay, South Dakota State University

ASA Early Career Award 

Dr. Gurjinder Baath, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Carl Sprengel Agronomic Research Award 

Dr. Bruno Basso, Michigan State University

Environmental Quality Research Award 

Dr. Jianming Xu, ZheJiang University

International Agronomy Award 

Dr. Mangi Lal Jat, CIMMYT

Kingenta Agricultural Science Award 

Dr. Jianming Xu, ZheJiang University

Werner L. Nelson Award for Diagnosis of Yield-Limiting Factors

Dr. Frederick Below, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Crop Science Society of America awards

Crop Science Graduate Student Scholarship 

Nkem Nwosu, University of Florida West Florida Research & Education Center

CSSA Fellows

Prof. Nirit Bernstein, Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research

Dr. Donn Cummings, Emeritus Plant Breeder

Dr. Patricio Grassini, University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Dr. Krishna Jagadish, Texas Tech University

Dr. Donald Jones, Cotton Incorporated

Prof. Thomas Lubberstedt, Iowa State University

Dr. Laura Mayor, Corteva Agriscience

CSSA Presidential Award

Dr. Thomas Sinclair, North Carolina State University

Crop Science Distinguished Service Award

Dr. Jeffrey Volenec, Purdue University

Crop Science Extension Education Award 

Dr. Kevin Frank, Michigan State University

Crop Science Research Award 

Prof. Jianxin Ma, Purdue University

Crop Science Teaching Award 

Dr. Paul Johnson, Utah State University

Early Career Award 

Dr. Caio Canella Vieira, University of Arkansas

Frank N. Meyer Medal for Plant Genetic Resources 

Dr. Jack McCarty, USDA-ARS

Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award 

Dr. Stacy Bonos, Rutgers University

International Crop ScienceAward

Dr. Amir Ibrahim, Texas A&M University

Seed Science Award

Dr. Rosalyn Shim, Texas Tech University

Soil Science Society of America awards

Clark Soil Biology Graduate Student Scholarship

Dr. Hanyue Yang, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Gary Pete Peterson Dryland Soil Management Scholarship

Erin Jackson, Colorado State University

SSSA Fellows

Dr. Paul DeLaune, University of Arkansas

Dr. Julie Grossman, University of Minnesota–Twin Cities

Dr. Pierre-Andre Jacinthe, Indiana University

Dr. Krishnaswamy Jayachandran, Florida International University

Dr. Shu Kee Lam, University of Melbourne

Dr. Katie Lewis, Texas A&M AgriLife Research

Prof. Quirijn de Jong van Lier, Universidade De Sao Paulo

Dr. Jasper Vrugt, University of California

Dr. Jie Zhuang, University of Tennessee-Knoxville

SSSA Presidential Award

Current and past contributors to the Regional and National Collegiate Soil Judging Contests

Soil Science Distinguished Service Award

Dr. David Lindbo, North Carolina State University

SSSA Early Career Award

Dr. Gerson Drescher, University of Arkansas

Truog Soil Science Outstanding Dissertation Award

Dr. Christopher Baish, Desert Research Institute

Don and Betty Kirkham Soil Physics Award

Prof. Scott Jones, Utah State University

International Soil Science Award

Prof. Asim Biswas, University of Guelph

L.R. Ahuja Ag Systems Modeling Award

Dr. Garry O'Leary, University of Melbourne

Soil Science Applied Research Award

Prof. Deli Chen, The University of Melbourne

Soil Science Industry and Professional Leadership Award

Dr. Thomas Bruulsema, Guelph, CANADA

Soil Science Research Award

Prof. Deli Chen, The University of Melbourne

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