Faculty and students in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences at Auburn University received a number of awards during the annual meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, the Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America held Nov. 7, 2021.
Each year, the three societies collaborate on an annual meeting known as the ASA-CSSA-SSSA International Annual Meeting. At the 2021 meeting, Professor Scott McElroy was named a Fellow of the Crop Science Society of America, and Professor Beth Guertal received the Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award for significant career contributions in turfgrass science by the Turfgrass Division of the same society.
Additionally, Professor and Extension Specialist Brenda Ortiz and her team were recipients in the 2021 Extension Education Community Educational Material Awards program by the American Society of Agronomy. They earned first place in Digital Communications for the Alabama Irrigation Management Program Newsletter and third place in Long Publications for DigitalAG@Farms.
Several graduate students were also recognized, including Hannah Decker, who won the third-place poster award in the Division of Soil Biology and Biochemistry at the Soil Science Society of America annual meeting; Anna Powell, who won second place in the Environmental Quality section of the American Society of Agronomy annual meeting; and Gagandeep Kaur, who won third place in the Soils & Environmental Quality section of the same meeting.
Finally, in the undergraduate section of the American Society of Agronomy — known as Students of Agronomy, Soils and Environmental Science (SASES) — students from the Auburn University Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Club, advised by Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist Audrey Gamble, participated in several events.
Lili Tucker gave a presentation on Auburn CSES Club activities, and Pierce McClendon gave a poster presentation of his research titled “A Comparison of Two Methods of Irrigation Scheduling on Peanut Fields in South Alabama.”
The Quiz Bowl team, comprising Anna Grace England, Sophia Foliano, Lane Galloway and Jack Walley, made it to the semi-finals; the Crops Judging Team, comprising Gabe Alger, Joseph Burch, Keith Evett and Lane Galloway, placed seventh out of 18 teams.
“We have a stellar group of dedicated faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students that are very deserving of the awards and recognitions they received,” said John Beasley, professor and head of the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences. “They are to be congratulated for being recognized with these accomplishments.”
