Professor James Novak was chosen president-elect of the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA), Extension section. He also received the Farm Service Agency/U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Administrator’s Award for his work with the Farm Bill Education Program. AAEA is a professional organization that seeks to advance the study of economics as it relates to agriculture, rural communities and natural resources. Novak will assume the presidency of the Extension section in 2004. The Farm Service Agency/USDA Administrator’s Team Award was presented to Novak for his involvement in a multi-agency partnership whose goal was to train farm bill educators including Extension personnel, lenders, representatives of commodity organizations and others who were entrusted with providing accurate information to farmers, ranchers and others about how they would be affected by the 2002 Farm Bill.
      Vanessa Casanova, an AGEC graduate student working with Alumni Professor Conner Bailey on migrant woods worker issues, received national recognition on two fronts this past year. She was one of four recipients nationally who received funding through a Community and Forestry fellowship program established by the Ford Foundation and administered through the University of California, Berkeley. In part through performance in this fellowship program she came to the attention of the Rural Sociology Society (RSS), was nominated to stand for election for the national council of the RSS and won the election. She will be the first student ever to serve on the council; last year the RSS voted to include students for the first time.
      Bailey was elected to the Council of the Rural Sociological Society for 2003-2005 — one of the largest professional associations within the field of sociology.
      Professor Patricia Duffy recently received the NACTA Teaching Award for 2003 — the faculty awardee from among 110 institutional members.
      C. Robert Taylor, AGEC’s ALFA eminent scholar on agricultural and public policy, was chosen as one of 35 top agricultural economists from around the world to serve as a charter research fellow of a new global research organization that is focusing on the economic plight of rural communities. The Rural Development Research Consortium, based at the Uni-versity of California, Berkeley, is a network of researchers, policy makers and public and private institutions dedicated to improving the economy and quality of life in rural areas.

Biosystems Engineering (BSEN)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

      A cooperative project between the BSEN and the USDA Forest Service is being used by groups working on new international safety standards for forest machines. The research project focused on new language for an international standard that provides design criteria for Rollover Protective Structures on forest machines. The SAE working group came to Auburn in July to review the research results first-hand.
      Matt Veal of Newnan, Ga., a graduate student in biosystems engineering (BSEN) who graduated this August, was selected by the AU Graduate School as one of Auburn’s top 10 master’s students for 2003. Veal also was awarded first place in the engineering category in the annual Graduate Research Forum sponsored by Auburn’s Graduate Student Council. The award was based on Veal’s presentation of his research entitled “Modeling Rollover and Tip-Over Behavior of Excavator-Based Forest Machines.” Veal’s wife, Lori, also received her master’s degree in biosystems engineering and the couple is moving to Kentucky where Veal will pursue his Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky.
Taylor New Department Head
Steven E. Taylor, CoAg professor of forest and structural wood engineering, has been named head of the Depart-ment of Biosystems Engineering. Taylor, who has been a member of the faculty since 1989, assumed his duties Aug. 10. He replaced department chair Clifford Flood, who retired.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

      Horticulture (HORT) Professor Joe Eakes was awarded the American Nursery and Landscape Association’s 2003 L.C. Chadwick Educator’s Award. The award was established in 1976 and recognizes outstanding landscape horticultural instructors for their effectiveness in developing students’ horticultural skills and motivating them to pursue excellence in their careers, whether in industry or academia.
Henry Orr Fund Supports Student Garden Tour in England
      The Henry Orr Endowment Fund, initiated in memory of long-time horticulture professor Henry Orr to provide learning opportunities for students outside the classroom, made its first payout in a big way in May.
      Through the support of the Orr Fund and some assistance from the College of Agriculture, three undergraduate students — Amy Brown of Samson, Ala., Melissa Stein-hauer of North Palm Beach, Fla., and Collin Adcock of Roanoke, Ala, along with HORT Professor David Williams — traveled to England for a 10-day tour of public and private gardens. These enthusiastic Yanks invaded the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew then joined a small group of international gardening enthusiasts in a tour of gardens in rural Kent.
      Their tour of private gardens included Great Comp, Pashley Manor and Goodnestone, an 18th-century estate with woodland and lavish walled gardens. They also visited Great Dixter House and Gardens, owned by renowned garden writer and lecturer Christopher Lloyd. His garden features a unique blend of controlled and casual garden styles.
      One of the traditional favorites on the garden tour circuit is Sissinghurst Castle Gardens. With classic perennial borders, parterres and perfectly trimmed yew hedges, it lived up to its billing. Yew is one of the staples of the English garden, and along the way the group saw one of the oldest yews in the world, the Crowhurst yew, estimated to be 2,500 years old.
      For more information on the Orr Endowment, contact Charles Gilliam, department chair, at 334-844-4862 or gillic1@auburn.edu.

Agronomy and Soils (AGRN)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

      Agronomy and soils (AGRN) Professor Jacob Dane co-edited the recently published Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 4 - Physical Methods (2002, Soil Science Society of America [SSSA]). The 1,692-page book, which is used worldwide for physical measurements of soils, is being called the most comprehensive, organized and technologically advanced set of tools ever available for measuring the physical properties of soil. The book was a massive undertaking that spanned four years and involved 125 contributing writers from around the world as well as a panel of 19 top resource experts. Working with Dane as co-editor was G. Clarke Topp, a soil scientist in Canada’s Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The book can be purchased online from the SSSA at their Web site, www.asa-cssa-sssa.org.
      Wilson Faircloth, an AGRN graduate student, was selected and recognized by the AU Graduate Student Council as one of Auburn’s 10 distinguished and outstanding doctoral students for 2002-2003 for his work with cogongrass research in southwest Alabama. He also received first place for a presentation on his research at the 2003 Beltwide Cotton Conference in Nashville. The research paper was based on studies sponsored by the Alabama Cotton Commission and Cotton Incorporated.
      Associate Professor Dennis Shannon recently completed the Summer Academy with AU’s Instructional Media Group. This is a five-week course for faculty on using various electronic media to enhance teaching. He is using the knowledge he acquired to enhance the Soil Resources and Conservation Course (AGRN 6080) with incorporation of images and other graphics into lectures and will make use of WebCT.
AU Soil Judging Team Wins National Competition
      The Auburn University Soil Judging Team had to get down and dirty to do it, but when the competition was over, the six-member crew beat 22 teams from across the country to claim the title as the 2003 National Collegiate Soil Judging Cham-pions.
      The victory at the national showdown at Texas A&M University in early April of 2003 was the first for an Auburn soil-judging team since 1986 and the first since 1989 for a team from the Southeastern region.             Team members, all AGRN undergraduates, competed individually and as a team to win the honor.
Team members were Stan Usery of Athens, Ala., Christina van Santen of Auburn, Ala., Deana Lasater of Hazel-green, Ala., Ellen Knight of Wadley, Ala., Bryan Stone of Hartselle, Ala. and Brandon Dillard of Hartford, Ala. Joey Shaw, AGRN assistant professor, was the team coach, assisted by Ben Hajek, AGRN professor emeritus.
      The AU team, which advanced to the nationals after claiming first place among 12 teams in regional competition last fall, had stellar performances in individual competition as well. Among the 88 individuals participating in the event, Usery finished first overall, with Stone placing 10th; van Santen, 12th; and Lasater, 15th.

Entomology and Plant Pathology (ENTM)

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

      The Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology (ENTM) received two awards for developing and implementing a model school integrated pest management (IPM) program in the state. The awards were presented to the ENTM by the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Foundation for IPM Education in April 2003 in grateful appreciation for distinguished service in the protection of children through their successful Integrated Pest Management Program. The School IPM program in Alabama was initiated through the efforts of AU entomologists Fudd Graham and Ping Hu.
      Winners of the F.S. and Margaret Arant and Henry and Myrtle Good Outstanding Graduate Student Awards for the academic year 2002-03 were: Outstanding Ph.D. Entomology Student, John Styrsky of Fort Worth, Texas; Outstanding M.S. Entomology Student, Ian Kaplan of Rockville Centre, N.Y.; Outstanding Ph.D. Plant Pathology Student, Aaron Palmateer of Bourbonnais, Ill.; and Outstanding M.S. Plant Pathology Student, Willis Hatcher of Brandon, Fla. Each winner received a $200 cash award and a certificate of achievement from the department.
      Kaplan and ENTM Ph.D. student Takumasa "Demian" Kondo were selected as two of Auburn’s 10 distinguished doctoral and master’s students, respectively, for 2002-03. They were selected for this honor from a campus-wide group of nominees by a special committee of the AU Graduate Student Council.
      ENTM faculty and students also garnered honors and awards at the Southeastern Branch Meetings of the Entomological Society of America held in Baton Rouge, La., in March 2003. Michael Williams, ENTM department chair, assumed the presidency of the society, while Professor Gary Mullen was voted president-elect, and Professor Wayne Brewer was elected to serve on the executive committee as a member-at-large. In other branch competitions, Kaplan received the Outstanding Master’s Level Paper Presentation Award, and Kondo won both first and second place in the Photo Salon.
      Brewer and Professor Wayne Clark were recognized for teaching excellence in the College of Agriculture with North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) National Teaching Awards of Merit.
      Professor Ed Cupp was selected for inclusion in this year’s edition of Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.
      Professor Kira Bowen will serve as editor-in-chief for the American Phyto-pathological Society journal, Plant Disease.
      Assistant Professor Kathy McLean received the Southern Soybean Workers Distinguished Service Award.
      Associate Professor John Murphy was selected as associate editor of the journal Phytopathology.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

      Faculty of the Poultry Science department (POUL) recently were honored with three different awards at the annual meeting of the Poultry Science Association in Madison, Wisc. POUL Professors John Blake and Robert Voitle, Associate Professors Roger Lien and Joe Hess and Research Assistant Frank Dillman — POUL’s undergraduate student recruiting team — were collectively awarded the Association’s Student Recruitment Award. The selection committee noted their success in bringing about an increased and stabilized student body at a time when recruiting students into the agricultural disciplines has been challenging. Hess was also selected for the American Feed Industry Award based on his research and extension efforts in poultry nutrition which have had a major impact on the poultry and feed industries.
      POUL Professor S. F. (Sarge) Bilgili also received the 2003 PSA Poultry Products Research Award for improving broiler processing procedures and his role as a leading international authority on broiler processing and products.
      POUL recently announced three new hires. Charlotte Little is a new accountant and will be working with both animal sciences and poultry science. Christine Wiggins is a new office administration associate, and Audrey Hollis is the new office administrator who will be handling human resource issues for both animal sciences and poultry science.
Food Safety Focus of S.T.E.P. Meeting
      In June 2003, the Science Teacher Education Program (S.T.E.P.) held its meeting in Auburn, focusing this year on food safety. Professors from Auburn University departments of Animal Sciences, Nutrition and Food Science and Poultry Science presented topics on such issues as irradiated food, applied microbiology, meat color, resistant bugs and the science of taste. The two-day program included presentations about the role of science in ensuring safe, high-quality food products, lectures covering an array of science topics, a tour of research facilities, application of the sciences by performing hands-on experiments and discussions with informal question and answer periods.
      The program was sponsored by the Poultry Products Safety and Quality Peak of Excellence Program (PPSQ). The PPSQ is identifying ways to provide consumers with safe, high-quality poultry products. The goal of S.T.E.P. is to provide middle and high school teachers with fun, applied-science activities for use in their classrooms. More information on S.T.E.P. and the recent workshop is available at
http://www.ag.auburn.edu/step/geninfo2003.html.
FFA Poultry Career Program Making Great Strides
      Poultry science continues to be involved in conducting the High School FFA Poultry Career Development Event program (also called poultry judging contests). Since expanding to a statewide program in 2000, the number of students and teams and the level of competition have increased dramatically. While FFA poultry judging has been conducted in north Alabama since 1996, a strong and viable program now encompasses all three districts of the state.
      High school agri-science teachers invest many hours a week, often after school, in preparing their students for the poultry judging contests. POUL alumni often assist teachers in coaching the students and providing chickens and eggs for their training. Several faculty and staff (Professors John Blake and Robert Voitle, Associate Professors Roger Lien and Joe Hess and Research Assistant Frank Dillman) act as resources for the agri-science teachers as well.
Barbeque Planned
      The fifth annual Poultry Alumni and Friends Recruiting Barbeque will be held on Nov. 1 and is open to all interested alumni, friends, students and potential students. For more information, contact Frank Dillman at 334-844-2645 or fdillman @acesag.auburn.edu.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

      Animal Sciences (ANSC) Research Associate John Lin along with Professors Pete Moss, Russ Muntifering and Keith Cummins and Associate Professor Darrell Rankins all attended the recent American Dairy Science Association and American Society of Animal Science (ADSA/ ASAS) meetings in Phoenix, Ariz., where Lin, Moss, Rankins and Cummins presented papers. Moss also won the southern section of ADSA Dairy Extension Award, which was presented at the meetings.
      Cummins recently finished his rotation as president and past-president of the American College of Animal Nutrition (ACAN), the board-certifying agency for animal nutritionists in the United States. ACAN held its annual meeting in Phoenix in conjunction with the ADSA/ASAS meetings.
      Muntifering, along with School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences (FWS) faculty Art Chappelka and Steve Ditchkoff, also was awarded a $93,564 grant that is funded by the AU Environmental Institute ($46,180) with matching funds from ANSC and Forestry and Wildlife Sciences ($47,384). The grant is entitled “Nutritive content of select herbaceous resources for wildlife and domestic animals as affected by ground level ozone.” The same faculty also received an Alabama Agricultural Experi-ment Station Foundation Grant for $89,002 on “Nutritive quality and competitive dynamics of a selected grassland community exposed to ground-level ozone.”
      Professor Dale Coleman recently was appointed to the national teaching committee for ASAS, and elected secretary/treasurer of the southern section of ASAS. Coleman also is serving as faculty adviser for the Freshman Year Experience, which includes Camp War Eagle.
      Associate Professor Lisa Kriese-Anderson received a Federal Extension line-item grant for $119,200 for the Alabama Beef Connection. This project is a joint effort among the Alabama Cattleman’s Association, Alabama Farmers Federa-tion/ALFA, the Beef Cattle Improvement Association, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and the Alabama Livestock Marketing Associa-tion. Its purpose is to create a marketing network and collect carcass data from Alabama stocker calves to improve their marketability.
      Professor Bill Jones won the American Meat Science Association’s Signal Service Award for his lifetime of service to the meat sciences and industry at the Reciprocal Meats Conference meeting in June.
Professor Werner Bergen was named to the editorial board of the Journal of Nutrition, the preeminent nutrition journal in the world.
      Chuck Halsey, Bergen’s graduate student, recently won the AU Graduate Student Council (GSC) Basic Life Sciences research award for his poster presentation at the GSC’s Research Forum last spring.
      AU Equestrian Team Coach Greg Williams and Research Associate John Lin were named co-outstanding staff members of the department for 2003.
Beef Teaching, Meats Lab Building Under Construction
      Construction is well underway for the new $7 million meat science laboratory and beef teaching unit at Auburn University, and a name has been chosen for the beef teaching unit in honor of one of its biggest donors and supporters — Stanley P. Wilson.
      According to Lowell Frobish, ANSC department chair, the new facilities are under construction at the intersection of Wire Road and Shug Jordan Parkway on the Auburn campus.
      When completed (completion date is set for Nov. 1) they will provide state-of-the-art buildings and equipment and 144 acres for beef teaching and research that will benefit students and producers alike.
      These new facilities were badly needed for Auburn to remain competitive in the muscle food and beef industry, notes Frobish. “Some 250 students, almost 30 ANSC faculty members and thousands of producers and meat industry representatives in the state rely on these facilities for education, research and outreach programs,” says Frobish, “but in their current state we are sorely limited in their use.”
      Wilson, who is a former vice president for agriculture at Auburn and a retired (but still active) member of the ANSC faculty, has been a primary supporter of the project. He first donated some $150,000 worth of equipment and cattle to ANSC in 2002 and has since donated another $200,000 toward the facilities to help them become a reality.
      While the buildings themselves are exceptional, Frobish notes that more funds are needed to outfit them with the best equipment. A fund drive is underway to raise another $500,000. Anyone interested in contributing to the fund drive or in learning more about the facilities can contact Frobish at 334-844-1528 or frobilt@auburn.edu.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

      The Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture’s (FISH’s) Alabama Water Watch program was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as being a superior program of citizen volunteer water quality monitoring.
      FISH Assistant Professor Allen Davis received the Director’s Research Award for Assistant Professors from the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.
      A paper by former master’s student Gene W. Kim and FISH Professor Dennis DeVries was selected as one of the top six papers of the American Fisheries Society’s (AFS) premier journal, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. A poster by Kim et al. received Best Poster Award for the 2002 annual meeting of the AFS. DeVries also continues to serve as an editor for the fisheries journal, a position he has held since January 1999.
      Professor Rex Dunham has received an alumni professorship.
      Professor Zhanjiang (John) Liu also received an alumni professorship, as well as the Alabama Catfish Producers Appreci-ation Award.
      Professor Len Lovshin received the FISH department’s Faculty Leadership Award.
      LaDon Swann, director of the Alabama Sea-Grant Consortium, received the U.S. Aquaculture Society’s Distinguished Service Award.
      Ryan Baya of Theodore, Ala., a recent FISH graduate, was recognized by the AU Student Government Association as the Outstanding Senior for the College of Agriculture.
      Ben Beck of Manchester, Ga., an FISH undergraduate student, received the Swingle Award as outstanding undergraduate in fisheries
      Jeff Jolley of Farmington, Minn., and Kresimir Williams of Liburn, Ga., both FISH graduate students, received Swingle Awards as outstanding master’s students in fisheries.
      Shawn McNulty of Sherril, Ariz., a recent FISH graduate, was selected by the AU Graduate School to be the Student Marshall for the Graduate School during the spring commencement.
     Gulnihal Ozbay of Turkey received the Swingle Award as the outstanding doctoral student in fisheries.
      Joey Slaughter of Langdale, Ala., was recognized as one of the top 10 most outstanding master’s student at Auburn University.
      Jeff Slipke of Auburn, Ala., was recognized as the most outstanding Ph.D. student at Auburn University.
      Twelve students from the department were inducted into Gamma Sigma Delta agricultural honor society. These include: Rob Carpenter of Petroskey, Mich.; Catherine Nordfelt of San Antonio, Texas; Stuart Goong of Seattle, Wash.; Amy Piko of Wheeling, W.V.; Kim Hamilton of Flat Rock, Tenn.; Steve Sammons of Sparta, Tenn.; Anthony Jackson of Pensacola, Fla.; Chris Sayles of Gas, Kansas; Jeff Jolley of Farmington, Minn.; Taworn Thunjai of Thailand; Aaron McNevin of Rockville, Md.; and Kresimir Williams of Liburn, Ga.
AU Shellfish Lab Dedicated
      The Auburn University Shellfish Lab (AUSL) on Dauphin Island, a new facility designed to support Alabama’s shellfish resources and industry, was officially dedicated in April, marking the beginning of a new era of shellfish research in Alabama.
      According to David Rouse, interim head of the CoAg’s Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures (FISH), dedication of this facility was “a dream come true.”
      The laboratory, which is an FISH unit, was established with industry input to foster production of high-quality shellfish products and to protect shellfish resources in the Gulf of Mexico.
      It is located on land leased from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, an ideal site for AUSL to pursue its scientific endeavors and broaden the involvement of various stakeholders.
      For more information on the facility, contact Scott Rikard at 251-861-3018 or srikard@acesag.auburn.edu

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