Leanne Dillard has always loved puzzles, and her work as an associate professor and an Alabama Cooperative Extension System specialist is like one big puzzle.
Departments Articles
Latest
Greene named distinguished professional animal scientist
Auburn University Professor of Animal Sciences Wayne Greene was recognized by a national organization for significant contributions to animal sciences through teaching, research, service or industry. The Distinguished Professional Animal Scientist Award is presented...
Protecting Alabama peaches from bacterial spot
Right in the heart of central Alabama, research is conducted throughout the year to find ways to protect one of the state’s most precious commodities—peaches. Among the most damaging diseases affecting stone fruit—especially peaches—is bacterial spot. As a result,...
Alumni connect during military deployment addressing New World Screwworm fly
It was in Honduras, at the Soto Cano Air Base, where Capt. Tolulope Morawo and Lt. Col. Steven “Mark” Pelham met an enemy they had never encountered before. Morawo, an...
Ella Taylor named summer 2025 graduation marshal
A Madison, Alabama, native will lead her classmates into the 2025 commencement ceremony at Auburn University this Saturday. Ella Taylor, an agricultural science major...
Repurposing poultry processing water for hydroponic use
Researchers at Auburn University recently developed new methods for safely using poultry processing wastewater for food-grade hydroponic crop production. By eliminating...
Educational opportunities abound on rooftop garden
By Amy Weaver The garden on the rooftop of the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center does more than provide food and adornments for guests of its signature restaurant, 1856 – Culinary Residence, The Laurel Hotel & Spa and Ariccia Cucina Italiana. In fact,...
Auburn shares $28 million grant to meet rural challenges
Auburn University is one of three universities sharing a $28 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), to establish an Institute for Rural Partnership to research the causes and conditions of...
Faculty team places first in USDA challenge
A team of Auburn University faculty members from the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, and Sciences and Mathematics placed first in the national Coleridge Initiative Food for Thought Data Challenge, in association with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The team...
Harrison Estes thrives in applied biotechnology major
Auburn agriculture senior finds success in his major Do you know what applied biotechnology is? Harrison Estes — a senior majoring in applied biotechnology — defines it as “the study and practice of genetic modification for industrial, medical and agricultural...
Walley elected vice president of national student organization
While in Baltimore attending the annual meeting of Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Science (SASES), Jack Walley, a junior in environmental science at Auburn University, was elected to serve as the vice president of SASES for the 2023 year. SASES is a...
Starkey, Wilson recognized with Auburn Faculty Awards
Faculty members Jessica Starkey and Alan Wilson of the Auburn University College of Agriculture were recognized with Auburn Faculty Awards at a banquet Nov. 17. Starkey, associate professor of poultry science, was one of three faculty members receiving an Alumni...
Proposal among 2023 JGI Community Science Program awardees
A proposal from Auburn University is one of 19 selected for the 2023 Community Science Program call of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI), a DOE Office of Science User Facility located at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley...
Soil Judging Team wins Southeastern Region Contest
The Auburn University Soil Judging Team recently took home a big win. Oct.17-20, the team traveled to Clemson, South Carolina, to compete in the annual Southeastern Region Collegiate Soil Judging Contest, hosted by Clemson University. Joey Shaw, former professor in...
Fisheries lab joins U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on $5 million project
The Southeastern Cooperative Fish Parasite and Disease Laboratory — a multistate fish disease diagnostics laboratory that is part of the College of Agriculture’s School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences — has recently joined with the U.S. Fish and...
Animal sciences department hosts foreign embassies for study tour
The Auburn University Department of Animal Sciences hosted 12 foreign embassies for a study tour of beef cattle production systems in the Southeastern U.S. October 19-21. The delegation included representatives from Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Latvia, the...
Wilson receives Auburn’s highest faculty honor
Alan Wilson, a professor in the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, has been awarded the university’s Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2022. The Leischuck Award is the highest...
Auburn-developed robotics promising for U.S. forest tree industry
Like many U.S. industries, forest seedling nursery production is dependent on seasonal manual labor, a situation that is becoming untenable due to an acute shortage of workers. However, researchers at Auburn University are working on a robotic system that could...
Water Resources Center, AU Bees Lab partner with city to promote natural resources stewardship
Alabama Watershed Stewards and Alabama Water Watch, along with the AU Bees Lab and Westervelt Ecological Resources, are partnering with the city of Auburn through a recently awarded grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for 2022-23. Alabama Watershed...
Study explores plant-based meat alternatives buying habits
A recent study led by Auburn University agricultural economists suggests that plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) might be seen by consumers as a niche product rather than as an actual substitute for meat. “We realized there is very little information about how...
Buchanan to give special lecture on agricultural research
A seasoned agriculturalist who spent 21 years with the College of Agriculture at Auburn University will give a special lecture on agricultural research at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22. Gale Buchanan will give a lecture titled “Agricultural Research: What has it done for...
Koebernick named to USDA Plant Variety Protection Board
Jenny Koebernick, associate professor in the Department of Crop, Soil & Environmental Sciences in the Auburn University College of Agriculture, has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Variety Protection Board. The Plant Variety Protection...
Faculty honored with endowed professorships
One College of Agriculture faculty member was recently reappointed an eminent scholar and two others received endowed professorships. Rex Dunham, alumni professor in the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, was reappointed the Butler-Cunningham...
Faculty member receives NSF CAREER award to study flash drought
Di Tian, an assistant professor in the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, has been named a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, Award. The CAREER...
Nanomaterials could make pesticide use more efficient and sustainable
While nearly 4 million tons of conventional pesticides are used annually, only a small amount — 1% to 25% — reach the target organisms, leaving a large proportion released into the environment as a potential hazard. This is due to many factors such as spray drift,...
Research looks at nutrient loss in soybeans
By Jacqueline Kochak Stroll through the humid main corridor at Auburn University’s Plant Science Research Center and you’ll notice potted trees bearing clusters of green bananas and small shrubs with pineapples nestled in the center. Those are for the school children...
Fisheries professors honored at international meeting
Two faculty members in the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences were recently recognized at the World Aquaculture Society conference in San Diego. Professor Terry Hanson, a 35-year veteran of aquaculture economics research and...
Educational opportunities abound on rooftop garden
By Amy Weaver The garden on the rooftop of the Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center does more than provide food and adornments for guests of its signature restaurant, 1856 – Culinary Residence, The Laurel Hotel & Spa and Ariccia Cucina Italiana. In fact,...
Auburn shares $28 million grant to meet rural challenges
Auburn University is one of three universities sharing a $28 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), to establish an Institute for Rural Partnership to research the causes and conditions of...
Faculty team places first in USDA challenge
A team of Auburn University faculty members from the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, and Sciences and Mathematics placed first in the national Coleridge Initiative Food for Thought Data Challenge, in association with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The team...
Harrison Estes thrives in applied biotechnology major
Auburn agriculture senior finds success in his major Do you know what applied biotechnology is? Harrison Estes — a senior majoring in applied biotechnology — defines it as “the study and practice of genetic modification for industrial, medical and agricultural...
Walley elected vice president of national student organization
While in Baltimore attending the annual meeting of Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Science (SASES), Jack Walley, a junior in environmental science at Auburn University, was elected to serve as the vice president of SASES for the 2023 year. SASES is a...
Starkey, Wilson recognized with Auburn Faculty Awards
Faculty members Jessica Starkey and Alan Wilson of the Auburn University College of Agriculture were recognized with Auburn Faculty Awards at a banquet Nov. 17. Starkey, associate professor of poultry science, was one of three faculty members receiving an Alumni...
Proposal among 2023 JGI Community Science Program awardees
A proposal from Auburn University is one of 19 selected for the 2023 Community Science Program call of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI), a DOE Office of Science User Facility located at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley...
Soil Judging Team wins Southeastern Region Contest
The Auburn University Soil Judging Team recently took home a big win. Oct.17-20, the team traveled to Clemson, South Carolina, to compete in the annual Southeastern Region Collegiate Soil Judging Contest, hosted by Clemson University. Joey Shaw, former professor in...
Fisheries lab joins U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on $5 million project
The Southeastern Cooperative Fish Parasite and Disease Laboratory — a multistate fish disease diagnostics laboratory that is part of the College of Agriculture’s School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences — has recently joined with the U.S. Fish and...
Animal sciences department hosts foreign embassies for study tour
The Auburn University Department of Animal Sciences hosted 12 foreign embassies for a study tour of beef cattle production systems in the Southeastern U.S. October 19-21. The delegation included representatives from Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Latvia, the...
Wilson receives Auburn’s highest faculty honor
Alan Wilson, a professor in the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, has been awarded the university’s Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2022. The Leischuck Award is the highest...
Auburn-developed robotics promising for U.S. forest tree industry
Like many U.S. industries, forest seedling nursery production is dependent on seasonal manual labor, a situation that is becoming untenable due to an acute shortage of workers. However, researchers at Auburn University are working on a robotic system that could...
Water Resources Center, AU Bees Lab partner with city to promote natural resources stewardship
Alabama Watershed Stewards and Alabama Water Watch, along with the AU Bees Lab and Westervelt Ecological Resources, are partnering with the city of Auburn through a recently awarded grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for 2022-23. Alabama Watershed...
Study explores plant-based meat alternatives buying habits
A recent study led by Auburn University agricultural economists suggests that plant-based meat alternatives (PBMA) might be seen by consumers as a niche product rather than as an actual substitute for meat. “We realized there is very little information about how...
Buchanan to give special lecture on agricultural research
A seasoned agriculturalist who spent 21 years with the College of Agriculture at Auburn University will give a special lecture on agricultural research at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22. Gale Buchanan will give a lecture titled “Agricultural Research: What has it done for...
Koebernick named to USDA Plant Variety Protection Board
Jenny Koebernick, associate professor in the Department of Crop, Soil & Environmental Sciences in the Auburn University College of Agriculture, has been appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Variety Protection Board. The Plant Variety Protection...
Faculty honored with endowed professorships
One College of Agriculture faculty member was recently reappointed an eminent scholar and two others received endowed professorships. Rex Dunham, alumni professor in the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, was reappointed the Butler-Cunningham...
Faculty member receives NSF CAREER award to study flash drought
Di Tian, an assistant professor in the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, has been named a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, Award. The CAREER...
Nanomaterials could make pesticide use more efficient and sustainable
While nearly 4 million tons of conventional pesticides are used annually, only a small amount — 1% to 25% — reach the target organisms, leaving a large proportion released into the environment as a potential hazard. This is due to many factors such as spray drift,...
Research looks at nutrient loss in soybeans
By Jacqueline Kochak Stroll through the humid main corridor at Auburn University’s Plant Science Research Center and you’ll notice potted trees bearing clusters of green bananas and small shrubs with pineapples nestled in the center. Those are for the school children...
Fisheries professors honored at international meeting
Two faculty members in the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences were recently recognized at the World Aquaculture Society conference in San Diego. Professor Terry Hanson, a 35-year veteran of aquaculture economics research and...